Contextual cropping and scaling of TV productions

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11042-011-0804-3. Copyright @ Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011.In this paper, an application is presented which automatically adapts SDTV (Standard Definition Television) sports productions to smaller displays through intelligent cropping and scaling. It crops regions of interest of sports productions based on a smart combination of production metadata and systematic video analysis methods. This approach allows a context-based composition of cropped images. It provides a differentiation between the original SD version of the production and the processed one adapted to the requirements for mobile TV. The system has been comprehensively evaluated by comparing the outcome of the proposed method with manually and statically cropped versions, as well as with non-cropped versions. Envisaged is the integration of the tool in post-production and live workflows

Women and Illegal Activities: Gender Differences and Women's Willingness to Comply Over Time

In recent years the topics of illegal activities such as corruption or tax evasion have attracted a great deal of attention. However, there is still a lack of substantial empirical evidence about the determinants of compliance. The aim of this paper is to investigate empirically whether women are more willing to be compliant than men and whether we observe (among women and in general) differences in attitudes among similar age groups in different time periods (cohort effect) or changing attitudes of the same cohorts over time (age effect) using data from eight Western European countries from the World Values Survey and the European Values Survey that span the period from 1981 to 1999. The results reveal higher willingness to comply among women and an age rather than a cohort effect. Working Paper 06-5

A search asymmetry for interocular conflict

When two different images are presented to the two eyes, the percept will alternate between the images (a phenomenon called binocular rivalry). In the present study, we investigate the degree to which such interocular conflict is conspicuous. By using a visual search task, we show that search for interocular conflict is near efficient (15 ms/item) and can lead to a search asymmetry, depending on the contrast in the display. We reconcile our findings with those of Wolfe and Franzel (1988), who reported inefficient search for interocular conflict (26 ms/item) and found no evidence for a search asymmetry. In addition, we provide evidence for the suggestion that differences in search for interocular conflict are contingent on the degree of abnormal fusion of the dissimilar images

Visual onset expands subjective time

We report a distortion of subjective time perception in which the duration of a first interval is perceived to be longer than the succeeding interval of the same duration. The amount of time expansion depends on the onset type defining the first interval. When a stimulus appears abruptly, its duration is perceived to be longer than when it appears following a stationary array. The difference in the processing time for the stimulus onset and motion onset, measured as reaction times, agrees with the difference in time expansion. Our results suggest that initial transient responses for a visual onset serve as a temporal marker for time estimation, and a systematic change in the processing time for onsets affects perceived time

The asymmetry and temporal dynamics of incidental letter-location bindings in working memory.

Verbal-spatial bindings are integral to routine cognitive operations (e.g., reading), yet the processes supporting them in working memory are little understood. Campo and colleagues [Campo, P., Poch, C., Parmentier, F. B. R., Moratti, S., Elsley, J. V., Castellanos, N., … Maestú, F. (2010). Oscillatory activity in prefrontal and posterior regions during implicit letter-location binding. Neuroimage, 49, 2807-2815] recently reported data suggesting obligatory letter-location binding when participants were directed to remember the letters in a display (of letters in locations), but no evidence for binding when instructed to remember the filled locations. The present study contrasted two explanations for this binding asymmetry. First, it may result from an obligatory dependence on "where" during the representation of "what" information, while "where" information may be held independently of its contents (the strong asymmetry hypothesis). Second, it may constitute a snapshot of a dynamic feature inhibition process that had partially completed by test: the asymmetrical inhibition hypothesis. Using Campo and colleagues' task with a variable retention interval between display and test, we presented four consonants in distinct locations and contrasted performance between "remember letters" and "remember locations" instructions. Our data supported the strong asymmetry hypothesis through demonstrating binding in the verbal task, but not in the spatial task. Critically, when present, verbal-spatial bindings were remarkably stable, enduring for at least 15 seconds

Introducing a trauma-informed capability approach in youth services

Trauma-informed practice has been developing for decades, though much remains unknown regarding how it is understood and practised. Drawing upon focus group data from an evaluation of a trauma-informed approach (TIA) implemented by an organisation in Southeast England, this paper provides a unique perspective of 31 staff members and 18 young people. Results indicate how choice and control, key elements of a TIA, align with the Capability Approach (CA). The CA is then used as a novel analytic framework to examine the data. A ‘Trauma-Informed Capabilities Approach’ is introduced as a holistic, person-centred way of conceptualising young trauma survivors’ wellbeing

Effects of motifs in music therapy on the attention of children with externalizing behavior problems

Recent studies highlight the role of attention (i.e., executive attention and joint attention) in the negative association between children’s externalizing behavior problems (EBPs) and self-regulation. In music therapy improvisation, “Motifs” represent a repeated and meaningful use of freely improvised or structured music. They have been reported to be effective in drawing attention toward joint musical engagement. This study aimed to examine the effects of clinically derived motifs on the attention of a child with EBPs. Video microanalysis of four therapy sessions was employed. Interaction segments with/without motifs were then selected for analysis: (a) Executive attention measurement: a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to examine the effects of Motifs (Factor I) across sessions (Factor II) on the duration of interaction segments. (b) Joint attention measurement: another two-way ANOVA investigated the effects of these two factors on the duration of joint attentive responses in each segment. Results showed that (a) the segments with Motifs tended to decrease in duration throughout the sessions, while (b) these segments showed a significant increase in proportions of joint attentional responses. These findings suggest a positive effect of Motifs on enhancing efficiency of joint attention execution over time, indicating the child’s recognition of the Motifs through learning

Development of intuitive rules: Evaluating the application of the dual-system framework to understanding children's intuitive reasoning

This is an author-created version of this article. The original source of publication is Psychon Bull Rev. 2006 Dec;13(6):935-53 The final publication is available at www.springerlink.com Published version: http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/BF0321390