Deep Recurrent Learning for Efficient Image Recognition Using Small Data

Recognition is fundamental yet open and challenging problem in computer vision. Recognition involves the detection and interpretation of complex shapes of objects or persons from previous encounters or knowledge. Biological systems are considered as the most powerful, robust and generalized recognition models. The recent success of learning based mathematical models known as artificial neural networks, especially deep neural networks, have propelled researchers to utilize such architectures for developing bio-inspired computational recognition models. However, the computational complexity of these models increases proportionally to the challenges posed by the recognition problem, and more importantly, these models require a large amount of data for successful learning. Additionally, the feedforward-based hierarchical models do not exploit another important biological learning paradigm, known as recurrency, which ubiquitously exists in the biological visual system and has been shown to be quite crucial for recognition. Consequently, this work aims to develop novel biologically relevant deep recurrent learning models for robust recognition using limited training data. First, we design an efficient deep simultaneous recurrent network (DSRN) architecture for solving several challenging image recognition tasks. The use of simultaneous recurrency in the proposed model improves the recognition performance and offers reduced computational complexity compared to the existing hierarchical deep learning models. Moreover, the DSRN architecture inherently learns meaningful representations of data during the training process which is essential to achieve superior recognition performance. However, probabilistic models such as deep generative models are particularly adept at learning representations directly from unlabeled input data. Accordingly, we show the generalization of the proposed deep simultaneous recurrency concept by developing a probabilistic deep simultaneous recurrent belief network (DSRBN) architecture which is more efficient in learning the underlying representation of the data compared to the state-of-the-art generative models. Finally, we propose a deep recurrent learning framework for solving the image recognition task using small data. We incorporate Bayesian statistics to the DSRBN generative model to propose a deep recurrent generative Bayesian model that addresses the challenge of learning from a small amount of data. Our findings suggest that the proposed deep recurrent Bayesian framework demonstrates better image recognition performance compared to the state-of-the-art models in a small data learning scenario. In conclusion, this dissertation proposes novel deep recurrent learning pipelines, which utilize not only limited training data to achieve improved image recognition performance but also require significantly reduced training parameters

Comparative Acceptability of GTM and CLT to the Teachers of Rural Secondary High Schools in Bangladesh

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has been innovated in the secondary (and the higher secondary) level of education in Bangladesh by drastically devaluing the principles of the long-practiced traditional Grammar Translation Method (GTM). The present study was carried out on some rural secondary high school teachers in Bangladesh about comparative acceptability of GTM and CLT in respects of achieving four skills, accuracy/ fluency, translating activity, ? group/pair works, and classroom language. The result of the study reflected their mixed attitude to GTM and CLT, though all of them put emphasis on language learning through translating activity in group/pair works. Their tendency and claims were in favor of the multi-syllabus. On the basis of the data findings this paper also presents some suggestions for appropriate methodology in ELT in Bangladesh. Keywords: CLT, GTM, translation, group/pair works, learners, teachers, four skills, grammar, classroom- language, multi-syllabus, etc

Banking Model of Education in Teacher-Centered Class: A Critical Assessment

Paulo Freire in his seminal work Pedagogy of the Oppressed rigorously condemns  banking  model  of  education,  which  implies the  learners’ receiving  knowledge passively  as empty  vessels from the  teacher , who is  supposed to be store-house of knowledge, in the  traditional  teacher-centered classroom. This article presents relationships of banking education with  some other  learning  theories, i.e., tabula rasa and nativist theory, Derrida’s logocentrism,  CLT and  post-method pedagogy, and  lastly  it explains the  socio-cultural root of  banking  education and, therefore, the difficulty of  replacing it by other pedagogical innovations. Key words:  Paulo Freire, banking model of education, teacher, learners, knowledge, learner’s potentiality, post-method pedagogy, socio-cultural context, etc

Exploring the Reasons of Non-Utilization of Literature in SSC and HSC Textbook English for Today in Bangladesh

Literature is a productive and viable medium in the language classroom. The English for Today textbooks at the secondary and higher secondary levels of education in Bangladesh have significant number of literary works for being used for achieving linguistic skills. But unfortunately, things in the real ELT classroom are utterly frustrating. Both teachers and students try to avoid the literary contents included in the textbooks. Thus, both of them are being deprived of the pleasure ?and possibility of exploiting literature for acquiring language skills. Again, most of the researches carried out in this field in our context have avoided this issue and have gone through the possibility of using literature in ELT class, not considering the practicality. This study has shed light on the practical ELT field and tried to find out the causes of avoiding the literary contents included in the textbooks and suggest the language policy planners of Bangladesh in this respect. Keywords: English for Today, literary contents, language skills, teachers, learners etc

Reading Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart from the Postcolonial Perspective

Various factors lead Achebe to write Things Fall Apart, which has acquired the status of a classic; among them, the most noteworthy one is his indignation at European representations of Africans in fiction. One such European representation of Africans in fiction was Joyce Cary’s novel Mr. Johnson which depicts exterior picture of Africa. Hence, Things Fall Apart is a counter discourse and the project Achebe adopts in it explains his position based on the interiority of original local contexts. Achebe has declared that he wrote Things Fall Apart “in order to reassert African identity and as part of the growth of Nigerian nationalism” (O’Reilly 2001: p. 61). The present study intends to analyze Things Fall Apart from the perspective of the various issues of a postcolonial text. Key words: Colonialism, postcolonialism, discourse, representation, culture etc

Comparative Acceptability of GTM and CLT to the Teachers of Rural Secondary High Schools in Bangladesh

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has been innovated in the secondary (and the higher secondary) level of education in Bangladesh by drastically devaluing the principles of the long-practiced traditional Grammar Translation Method (GTM). The present study was carried out on some rural secondary high school teachers in Bangladesh about comparative acceptability of GTM and CLT in respects of achieving four skills, accuracy/ fluency, translating activity, ? group/pair works, and classroom language. The result of the study reflected their mixed attitude to GTM and CLT, though all of them put emphasis on language learning through translating activity in group/pair works. Their tendency and claims were in favor of the multi-syllabus. On the basis of the data findings this paper also presents some suggestions for appropriate methodology in ELT in Bangladesh. Key words: CLT, GTM, translation, group/pair works, learners, teachers, four skills, grammar, classroom- language, multi-syllabus, etc

Parallel Presentation of Positive and Negative Sides of Igbo Culture in Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe s magnum opus Things Fall Apart reflects authentic presentation of the Igbo society Various social political economic religious psychological and personal issues of the Igbo people have been put forward by the author in this ethnographic novel Achebe has depicted these issues from the perspective of both an observer and a critic The ethnographic depiction of the Igbo life indicates that Chinua Achebe has tried to maintain his objective stance in the novel He is not biased at all It is evident in his contrastive presentation of the culture and beliefs of the Igbo in one hand he presents the constructive and rational side of the Igbo on the other hand he highlights their follies and irrational beliefs too Achebe as an original Igbo expectedly presents the riches and potentialities of the Igbo society But at the same time he is not uncritical of the limitations of his society where he belongs to The present study has dealt with Achebe s audacious attempt to present the limitations and follies of Igbo life in Things Fall Apar

Reading Achebeas Things Fall Apart from the Perspective of Cesaireas Discourse on Colonialism

This article attempts to study Chinua Achebe s novel Things Fall Apart from the perspectives put forward in Aime Cesaire s anti-colonial text Discourse on Colonialism For this purpose various thematic key-issues found in Discourse on Colonialism are studied first These thematic key-issues include old African societies representation colonial effects colonial Christianity decolonization flaws of civilization etc In the text Aime Cesaire has strongly dealt with these issues Then in this paper each of these issues is thoroughly attempted on the basis of their having treated in Things Fall Apart Finally this paper shows that Things Fall Apart can well be analyzed by considering all the thematic concerns voiced by Cesair

Frugal Innovation Strategies of Electric Vehicles: A New Era

Recently, electric vehicles (EV) production and markets have been growing and auto makers are producing their products, continuing development and improving portfolios to match the needs of consumers. This paper is devoted to the analysis of the evolution of different aspects, concepts and strategies of frugal innovation, then the development of EVs from a historical perspective and finally an overview is given of the different types of EVs developed in this paper. In other research done on Frgal Innovation the different challenges of facing EVs are described and analyzed. In recent years, there has been a growing awareness among companies of the need to innovate with limited resources. The main goal of the article is to demonstrate how the frugal innovations of EVs refers to innovative EV components, such as motors, bodies, tires, batteries, infrastructure and electricity, that are developed and deployed with minimal resources to meet the needs of their markets

Environmental Education in Bangladesh and Japan: A Comparative Assessment

バングラデシュにおける環境教育は、初等教育から高等教育まで特にフォーマル学校や神学校(Madrasa)にて行っている。しかし、バングラデシュの環境悪化の問題が完全に政府主導となっていることは深刻である。バングラデシュの環境を保護するために、広範な大衆運動を始める必要がある。環境教育にも沢山問題がある。近年、環境マネジメントに対する政府は環境問題に気づいていることと廃棄修理に力を入れている。本稿では、バングラデシュの環境教育状況、主要な問題(特にカリキュラム)を取り上げ、日本の環境教育とくに初等教育レベルの比較的分析し、日本の環境教育の経験を導入より、バングラデシュの環境教育の問題を解決する試みである