A novel framework for retrieval and interactive visualization of multimodal data

With the abundance of multimedia in web databases and the increasing user need for content of many modalities, such as images, sounds, etc. , new methods for retrieval and visualization of multimodal media are required. In this paper, novel techniques for retrieval and visualization of multimodal data, i. e. documents consisting of many modalities, are proposed. A novel cross-modal retrieval framework is presented, in which the results of several unimodal retrieval systems are fused into a single multimodal list by the introduction of a cross-modal distance. For the presentation of the retrieved results, a multimodal visualization framework is also proposed, which extends existing unimodal similarity-based visualization methods for multimodal data. The similarity measure between two multimodal objects is defined as the weighted sum of unimodal similarities, with the weights determined via an interactive user feedback scheme. Experimental results show that the cross-modal framework outperforms unimodal and other multimodal approaches while the visualization framework enhances existing visualization methods by efficiently exploiting multimodality and user feedback

Improving Brand Equity with Environmental Sustainability work : A qualitative study in Sweden

Sustainability is increasing in importance nowadays and Sweden is one of the most sustainability- focused countries in the world. Environmental sustainability is considered to be a key factor for business growth and companies incorporate this aspect in their brand marketing strategies. The purpose of this study is to get a broader understanding of the field of environmental sustainability work in connection to brand equity in Sweden. The main contribution of this study derives from studying how companies work with environmental sustainability to improve brand equity from a company’s perspective in Sweden. A qualitative approach was chosen, which included semi- structured interviews with seven companies that operate in Sweden. This paper develops an analytical model in order to analyse the findings from the interviews. The findings suggest that companies can work with environmental sustainability to improve their brand equity in Sweden by using strategies and practices that fit the company. It is important to consider the local context of Sweden, the market demands and requirements of its stakeholders and adopt a holistic approach in order to improve brand equity. Companies can choose to incorporate environmental sustainability work as an add-on to their brand or base the core of the brand around their work

Improving Brand Equity with Environmental Sustainability work : A qualitative study in Sweden

Sustainability is increasing in importance nowadays and Sweden is one of the most sustainability- focused countries in the world. Environmental sustainability is considered to be a key factor for business growth and companies incorporate this aspect in their brand marketing strategies. The purpose of this study is to get a broader understanding of the field of environmental sustainability work in connection to brand equity in Sweden. The main contribution of this study derives from studying how companies work with environmental sustainability to improve brand equity from a company’s perspective in Sweden. A qualitative approach was chosen, which included semi- structured interviews with seven companies that operate in Sweden. This paper develops an analytical model in order to analyse the findings from the interviews. The findings suggest that companies can work with environmental sustainability to improve their brand equity in Sweden by using strategies and practices that fit the company. It is important to consider the local context of Sweden, the market demands and requirements of its stakeholders and adopt a holistic approach in order to improve brand equity. Companies can choose to incorporate environmental sustainability work as an add-on to their brand or base the core of the brand around their work

Branding for startup companies in Sweden : A study on startups brand building

Aim: The aim of this study is to explore the factors that influence the brand building in startup companies. Method: This study implements a qualitative approach and consists of twelve startup companies located in Sweden. Results and Conclusion: The findings suggest that the design of a brand (name and visual aspects), the use of social media, event participation and establishing partnerships is important parts of brand building. In addition, startups frequently make use of employees’ and entrepreneurs’ individual personality for branding purposes. Not only do all participants view branding as an important part of their business but a few respondents even feel it is crucial for the survival of their business. Suggestions for further research: The participants of this study reside in separate industries. This, combined with the sample size is not evidence enough to draw conclusion upon similarities and differences between startups branding practices in terms of industry. Thus, this could be interesting undertaking in the future due to the limited research on this topic. Contribution of the study: This study adds to the existing body of knowledge by uncovering factors such as brand design and social media, to name a few, that is used by startups to build their brand. As a result of this study insights has been given on the importance of branding and the strategies used to increase the brand equity of startups

Novel 3D processing methods for 3D object search and retrieval

The number of the available 3D objects has been significantly increased during the last years, mainly due to the rapid growth of the computer hardware and software. In the new network era, the need for reliable 3D object retrieval tools is emerging. In this thesis, three novel methods for 3D object representation capable for 3D object retrieval have been proposed. In the first approach, the 3D object is represented by an attributed graph, where the topology of the object is encoded in the topology of the graph and every graph element (nodes and edges) is attributed with geometric descriptors. The geometric descriptors are based on the approximation of every part with a super-ellipsoid and the novel 3D distance field descriptor. The matching is based on attributed graph matching. The second approach proposes a novel 3D shape representation. The 3D object is considered as a distributed 3D mass and the descriptor of the 3D object is indirectly computed from the resulting fields. The field is described using both Newton's and general relativity's laws. In the Newtonian approach, histograms of the field values in the surrounding area of the 3D object are computed, while in the relativistic approach the descriptors are histograms of the time–space curvature in the surrounding area of the 3D object. The matching method utilizes histogram matching approaches. The third method is based on the theory of Ellipsoidal Harmonics. Every object can be decomposed in an Ellipsoidal Harmonic series. Three instances of the Ellipsoidal Harmonic Descriptor are proposed and finally the Ellipsoidal Harmonics are combined to Spherical harmonics resulting in a powerful descriptor. Experiments which were performed in various 3D object databases proved the retrieval efficiency of the proposed approaches.Τα τελευταία χρόνια, η ανάπτυξη των υπολογιστών και η διάδοση του διαδικτύου, έχουν οδηγήσει στη δημιουργία μεγάλου αριθμού 3Δ αντικειμένων, γεγονός που καθιστά επιτακτική την ανάγκη δημιουργίας αξιόπιστων εργαλείων αναζήτησης και ανάκτησης 3Δ αντικειμένων. Στα πλαίσια της παρούσας διατριβής έχουν αναπτυχθεί τρεις καινοτόμες μεθοδολογίες επεξεργασίας και μαθηματικής αναπαράστασης του γεωμετρικού σχήματος των 3Δ αντικειμένων ώστε να αξιοποιηθούν σε συστήματα αναζήτησης και ανάκτησης 3Δ αντικειμένων. Η πρώτη μέθοδος, προτείνει την αναπαράσταση των 3Δ αντικειμένων με χρήση επαυξημένων γράφων, όπου η τοπολογία του γράφου αναπαριστά την τοπολογία του 3Δ αντικειμένου, ενώ κάθε στοιχείο του γράφου (κόμβοι και ακμές) επαυξάνεται με χρήση γεωμετρικών περιγραφέων. Οι γεωμετρικοί περιγραφείς στηρίζονται στην προσέγγιση με υπερελλειψοειδή και στον υπολογισμό πεδίου αποστάσεων από το υπερελλειψοειδές. Η σύγκριση των αντικειμένων βασίζεται στη θεωρία εύρεσης ομοιότητας μεταξύ επαυξημένων γράφων. Η δεύτερη μέθοδος αντιμετωπίζει τη 3Δ γεωμετρία από μια διαφορετική σκοπιά, καθώς θεωρεί το αντικείμενο σαν μια κατανεμημένη μάζα στο κενό και βασίζει την μαθηματική αναπαράσταση που το περιγράφει στο βαρυτικό πεδίο που δημιουργείται στον περιβάλλοντα χώρο του. Το πεδίο περιγράφεται με χρήση ιστογραμμάτων που προέρχονται από την εφαρμογή του νόμου της παγκόσμιας έλξης (και γενικεύσεις αυτού), καθώς και απλοποιημένες μορφές της γενικής θεωρίας της σχετικότητας. Η σύγκριση των περιγραφέων αξιοποιεί μετρικές ομοιότητας μεταξύ ιστογραμμάτων. Η τρίτη μέθοδος, εισάγει τη χρήση των ελλειψοειδών αρμονικών στην αναπαράσταση των 3Δ αντικειμένων. Κάθε αντικείμενο, ανεξάρτητα από τη μορφή αναπαράστασής του, μπορεί να αναπτυχθεί σε ένα σύνολο συναρτήσεων βάσης, που αποτελούν οι ελλειψοειδείς αρμονικές. Προτείνονται τρεις παραλλαγές των ελλειψοειδών αρμονικών, καθώς και ο συνδυασμός των ελλειψοειδών αρμονικών με τις καθιερωμένες σφαιρικές αρμονικές. Τα πειραματικά αποτελέσματα όλων των μεθόδων σε ένα σύνολο διαφορετικών βάσεων 3Δ αντικειμένων αναδεικνύουν την αποτελεσματικότητα τους

A novel framework for retrieval and interactive visualization of multimodal data

With the abundance of multimedia in web databases and the increasing user need for content of many modalities, such as images, sounds, etc., new methods for retrieval and visualization of multimodal media are required. In this paper, novel techniques for retrieval and visualization of multimodal data, i.e. documents consisting of many modalities, are proposed. A novel cross-modal retrieval framework is presented, in which the results of several unimodal retrieval systems are fused into a single multimodal list by the introduction of a cross-modal distance. For the presentation of the retrieved results, a multimodal visualization framework is also proposed, which extends existing unimodal similarity-based visualization methods for multimodal data. The similarity measure between two multimodal objects is defined as the weighted sum of unimodal similarities, with the weights determined via an interactive user feedback scheme. Experimental results show that the cross-modal framework outperforms unimodal and other multimodal approaches while the visualization framework enhances existing visualization methods by efficiently exploiting multimodality and user feedback

A novel framework for retrieval and interactive visualization of multimodal data

With the abundance of multimedia in web databases and the increasing user need for content of many modalities, such as images, sounds, etc., new methods for retrieval and visualization of multimodal media are required. In this paper, novel techniques for retrieval and visualization of multimodal data, i.e. documents consisting of many modalities, are proposed. A novel cross-modal retrieval framework is presented, in which the results of several unimodal retrieval systems are fused into a single multimodal list by the introduction of a cross-modal distance. For the presentation of the retrieved results, a multimodal visualization framework is also proposed, which extends existing unimodal similarity-based visualization methods for multimodal data. The similarity measure between two multimodal objects is defined as the weighted sum of unimodal similarities, with the weights determined via an interactive user feedback scheme. Experimental results show that the cross-modal framework outperforms unimodal and other multimodal approaches while the visualization framework enhances existing visualization methods by efficiently exploiting multimodality and user feedback