Feminist Perspective of Cross-gender Power Relation in Caryl Churchill's Top Girls

Top Girls, one of Caryl Churchill's most popular plays, describes the lives of six female characters coming from different centuries. Each of them has their own story to tell, as they have all been victimized by the patriarchal system in the century when they live and have resisted the system with different strategies. They either employ roles that are traditionally reserved for men or they adopt the archetypically feminine qualities. Despite their resistance and success, they find themselves unhappy and unsatisfied over their achievements. Thus this raises the question of the effectiveness of the feminist movement

A performance evaluation of pruning effects on hybrid neural network

In this paper, we explore the pruning effects on a hybrid mode sequential learning algorithmnamely FuzzyARTMAP-prunable Radial Basis Function (FAM-PRBF) that utilizes FuzzyARTMAP to learn a training dataset and Radial Basis Function Network (RBFN) to performregression and classification. The pruning algorithm is used to optimize the hidden layer ofthe RBFN. The experimental results show that FAM-PRBF has successfully reduced thecomplexity and computation time of the neural network.Keywords: pruning; radial basis function network; fuzzy ARTMAP

Dynamic signature verification based on hybrid wavelet-Fourier transform

In this paper, we propose a dynamic signature verification system which integrates hybrid of Discrete Wavelet Transform and Discrete Fourier Transform (DWT-DFT) for feature extraction. In feature matching, Euclidean distance and Enveloped Euclidean distance (EED) (a variant of Euclidean distance) are used. Distances of features are fused into a final score value and used to classify whether a genuine or a forgery signature. A benchmark database, SVC2004 which compose of Task 1 dataset and Task 2 dataset validate the effectiveness of this proposed system. Experimental results reveal a 7.08% EER for skilled forgeries and 2.37% EER of random forgeries in Task 1 dataset; and 8.61% EER for skilled forgeries and 2.05% EER for random forgeries in Task 2 datase

A Motion Estimation Algorithm Using DTCWT and ARPS

In this paper, a hybrid motion estimation algorithm utilizing the Dual Tree Complex Wavelet Transform (DTCWT) and the Adaptive Rood Pattern Search (ARPS) block is presented. The proposed algorithm first transforms each video sequence with DTCWT. The frame n of the video sequence is used as a reference input and the frame n+2 is used to find the motion vector. Next, the ARPS block search algorithm is carried out and followed by an inverse DTCWT. The motion compensation is then carried out on each inversed frame n and motion vector. The results show that PSNR can be improved for mobile device without depriving its quality. The proposed algorithm also takes less memory usage compared to the DCT-based algorithm. The main contribution of this work is a hybrid wavelet-based motion estimation algorithm for mobile devices. Other contribution is the visual quality scoring system as used in section 6

Set Intersection and Consistency in Constraint Networks

In this paper, we show that there is a close relation between consistency in a constraint network and set intersection. A proof schema is provided as a generic way to obtain consistency properties from properties on set intersection. This approach not only simplifies the understanding of and unifies many existing consistency results, but also directs the study of consistency to that of set intersection properties in many situations, as demonstrated by the results on the convexity and tightness of constraints in this paper. Specifically, we identify a new class of tree convex constraints where local consistency ensures global consistency. This generalizes row convex constraints. Various consistency results are also obtained on constraint networks where only some, in contrast to all in the existing work,constraints are tight

Rhizoctonia solani, a seed-borne pathogen of French Bean in Malaysia

A study on some aspects of the biology, pathogenicity and control of Rhizcotonia solani Kuhn (the imperfect state of Thanatephorus cucumaris (Frank) Donk was undertaken using an isolate from infected French bean seed. The fungus was found to be seed-borne on both the imported and some local varieties of French bean. The rate of growth of the fungus varied with temperature and the medium used. Malt extract agar gave poor growth and lima bean agar supported the best growth of the fungus at 28°C. The fungus infects the aerial parts of the French bean plant. The strain was found to have a wide host range. An in vitro study to test the efficacy of fungicides against Rhizoctonia showed that pentachloronitrobenzene at 50 ppm gave a good control