A proposal for dependent optimization in scalabale region-based coding systems

We address in this paper the problem of optimal coding in the framework of region-based video coding systems, with a special stress on content-based functionalities. We present a coding system that can provide scaled layers (using PSNR or temporal content-based scalability) such that each one has an optimal partition with optimal bit allocation among the resulting regions. This coding system is based on a dependent optimization algorithm that can provide joint optimality for a group of layers or a group of frames.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

A morphological approach for segmentation and tracking of human faces

A new technique for segmenting and tracking human faces in video sequences is presented. The technique relies on morphological tools such as using connected operators to extract the connected component that more likely belongs to a face, and partition projection to track this component through the sequence. A binary partition tree (BPT) is used to implement the connected operator. The BPT is constructed based on the chrominance criteria and its nodes are analyzed so that the selected node maximizes an estimation of the likelihood of being part of a face. The tracking is performed using a partition projection approach. Images are divided into face and non-face parts, which are tracked through the sequence. The technique has been successfully assessed using several test sequences from the MPEG-4 (raw format) and the MPEG-7 databases (MPEG-1 format).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Récit de voyage à l’intérieur du Code criminel de 1892 où entre autres mention est faite des peines auxquelles ses transgresseurs s’exposent

This article introduces some preliminary results from an ongoing research project on the history of the Canadian Criminal Code. These results focus mainly on two important aspects of the first version, promulgated in 1892, of this Code : the structure which has ruled over its construction (and which remains overwhelmingly untouched to this day), and the place of emprisonment in the overall framework of the sentencing provisions of the Code. A short explanation of some of the difficulties surrounding the identification and counting of the incriminatory statements in the Code's text precedes the presentation of these results. By way of conclusion, the author identifies one research avenue to which a detailed analysis of the legal texts in the field of penal law seems to point. It refers to the movement of widening and narrowing of the regulation power of the State, particularly in the fields of (de)criminalization and (de)penalization

En busca de la identidad de la educación física a través del análisis de las experiencias de estudiantes y egresados del ISEF : Una aproximación desde un enfoque narrativo (abordaje metodológico)

La REIPEFEi estudia como la cultura escolar de las instituciones afectan/originan/estimulan las experiencias y/o prácticas bien desarrolladas denominadas como innovaciones, como así también, interfieren en el proceso de abandono del trabajo docente de los profesores de educación física. Se concibe la cultura escolar como la actuación y significación que los actores le otorgan a la dinámica institución, expresado en acciones, reuniones, proyectos, programas, prácticas de enseñanza y de aprendizaje, entre otras. Hubo acuerdo en el Seminario desarrollado en Ijui (Brasil, 2011) ii para repensar las acciones de la Red en torno a cómo influye la formación docente inicial en la construcción de la identidad docente para el ejercicio del rol en las instituciones escolares. En este contexto surge el actual proceso de investigación que tiene como objetivo analizar y comprender, desde una perspectiva narrativa, de qué manera el estudiante y egresado del ISEF va construyendo la identidad docenteFil: Acosta, Fernando. Instituto Superior de Educación Física Ciudad de General Pico

À propos des illégalismes privilégiés. Réflexions conceptuelles et mise en contexte

The resolution of conflicts in a society can be seen as a complex network of interactions between various relatively autonomous official control systems. The place occupied by the criminal law as well as its role within this network are larg e -ly determined by the nature of its relations with the other control systems. Based on these theoretical premises, developed in recent socio-juridical studies, this article advances a number of conceptual proposals aimed at clarifying a question that has been the subject of theoretical and political controversy in the field of criminology for about half a century. It is the question of the exclusion, total or partial, of certain particular forms of illegalities from penal intervention. The principal characteristic of these illegalities lies in the fact that they have a broad range of forms of control (civil, administrative proceedings and particularly amicable arrangements). The control of illicit activities in five areas of social life examined in the second part of the study (the business world, public administration, public health, the environment and health and safety in the workplace) show this characteristic very clearly. In conclusion, the author advances a number of arguments that tend to illustrate the profoundly illusory nature of any attempt at control of the above-mentioned illicit activities by intervention of the criminal law

Recursive image sequence segmentation by hierarchical models

This paper addresses the problem of image sequence segmentation. A technique using a sequence model based on compound random fields is presented. This technique is recursive in the sense that frames are processed in the same cadency as they are produced. New regions appearing in the sequence are detected by a morphological procedure.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

A contour matching approach for accurate NOAA-AVHRR image navigation

Although different methods for NOAA AVHRR image navigation have already been established, the multitemporal and multi-satellite character of most studies requires automatic and accurate methods for navigation of satellite images. In the proposed method, a simple Kepplerian orbital model for the NOAA satellites is considered as reference model, and mean orbital elements are given as input to the model from ephemeris data. In order to correct the errors caused by these simplifications, errors resulting from inaccuracies in the positioning of the satellite and failures in the satellite internal clock, an automatic global contour matching approach has been adopted. First, the sensed image is preprocessed to obtain a gradient energy map of the reliable areas (sea-land contours) using a cloud detection algorithm and a morphological gradient operator. An initial estimation of the reliable contour positions is automatically obtained. The final positions of the contours are obtained by means of an iterative local minimization procedure that allows a contour to converge on an area of high image energy (edge). Global transformation parameters are estimated based on the initial and final positions of all reliable contour points. Finally, the performance of this approach is assessed using NOAA 14 AVHRR images from different geographic areas.Postprint (published version