Design of an Active Stereo Vision 3D Scene Reconstruction System Based on the Linear Position Sensor Module

Active vision systems and passive vision systems currently exist for three-dimensional (3D) scene reconstruction. Active systems use a laser that interacts with the scene. Passive systems implement stereo vision, using two cameras and geometry to reconstruct the scene. Each type of system has advantages and disadvantages in resolution, speed, and scene depth. It may be possible to combine the advantages of both systems as well as new hardware technologies such as position sensitive devices (PSDs) and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to create a real-time, mid-range 3D scene reconstruction system. Active systems usually reconstruct long-range scenes so that a measurable amount of time can pass for the laser to travel to the scene and back. Passive systems usually reconstruct close-range scenes but must overcome the correspondence problem. If PSDs are placed in a stereo vision configuration and a laser is directed at the scene, the correspondence problem can be eliminated. The laser can scan the entire scene as the PSDs continually pick up points, and the scene can be reconstructed. By eliminating the correspondence problem, much of the computation time of stereo vision is removed, allowing larger scenes, possibly at mid-range, to be modeled. To give good resolution at a real-time frame rate, points would have to be recorded very quickly. PSDs are analog devices that give the position of a light spot and have very fast response times. The cameras in the system can be replaced by PSDs to help achieve real- time refresh rates and better resolution. A contribution of this thesis is to design a 3D scene reconstruction system by placing two PSDs in a stereo vision configuration and to use FPGAs to perform calculations to achieve real-time frame rates of mid-range scenes. The linear position sensor module (LPSM) made by Noah Corp is based on a PSD and outputs a position in terms of voltage. The LPSM is characterized for this application by testing it with different power lasers while also varying environment variables such as background light, scene type, and scene distance. It is determined that the LPSM is sensitive to red wavelength lasers. When the laser is reflected off of diffuse surfaces, the laser must output at least 500 mW to be picked up by the LPSM and the scene must be within 15 inches, or the power intensity will not meet the intensity requirements of the LPSM. The establishment of these performance boundaries is a contribution of the thesis along with characterizing and testing the LPSM as a vision sensor in the proposed scene reconstruction system. Once performance boundaries are set, the LPSM is used to model calibrated objects. LPSM sensitivity to power intensity changes seems to cause considerable error. The change in power appears to be a function of depth due to the dispersion of the laser beam. The model is improved by using a correction factor to find the position of the light spot. Using a better-focused laser may improve the results. Another option is to place two PSDs in the same configuration and test to see whether the intensity problem is intrinsic to all PSDs or if the problem is unique to the LPSM

Sublimating the Singularity of an Author(ity): Textual Publics, Textual Agency, and a Case Study of "Eikon Basilike" (1649-1660)

This dissertation utilizes a critical post-human theorization of textual agency to demonstrate how, within certain historical circumstances, autobiographical texts are capable of assuming surrogate authorial agency for their $ubject-authors through the expression of what Mari Ruti (2012) identifies as singularity of being. Building upon the works of Ruti, Sigmund Freud, Jacques Lacan, Slavoj Žižek, and others, I illustrate how, through authorial cathexis, the singularity of the foreclosed$ubject-author registers its presence in the Symbolic field through what I call sublimated metaphoric-metonymic essences of the Real. This project employs its theory of the text-agent in a psychoanalytic case study of the regicide of Charles I (1649); the posthumous publication of his book, "Eikon Basilike"; and royalist textual responses to these events during the English Interregnum (1648/9–1660/1). I argue that "Eikon Basilike"—Charles I’s textual agent—was fetishized and sublimated with the king’s singularity, which enabled royalists to transfer his paternal-monarchical authority to the "Eikon." Specifically, the book was able to channel the king’s monarchical power through the Freudian paternal no. The "Eikon" became a Lacanian stain on the English Interregnum literary landscape, and it prompted royalists to combat the parliamentarians as a royalist textual public in response to the regicide. Through lenses of psychoanalysis and trauma theory, I investigate how royalist texts were disrupted by moments of what Mathew Martin (2015) calls traumatic mimesis. These texts exhibit moments of destabilized emotional surplus, which manifested mimetically as textual symptoms in the Symbolic field as their authors attempted to process the loss of the English monarchy. In so doing, royalist texts helped to condition public imagination of the Restoration through their individual contributions to a trans-subjective royalist textual fantasy: the sublimated $ubject-object a of monarchical ideology, "Eikon Basilike.

A Qualitative Exploration of Student Spiritual Development in a Living-Learning Community

The purpose of this study is to examine the spiritual development of eight participants in a living-learning community at Abilene Christian University. Using a qualitative methodology, this study attempted to capture the voices of participants as they concluded a year together in a Barrett Hall living-learning community (LCC). Data were collected over a period of 2-3 weeks through individual semi-structured interviews, as well as one focus group comprised of all eight community members. Data were analyzed to capture meaningful themes and categories. Implications for practice are discussed

Inspiring Vision and Practice: CultureWork, a leading voice for arts and cultural management praxis

3 pagesIn this issue of CultureWork we take a moment to look back and reflect on the publication’s past. As part of this reflection we celebrate the legacy and history of arts management practice upon which we have focused. Over its 15 years of publication, CultureWork has consistently shared relevant, timely work from within the field of arts and cultural management, including emerging research and practical advisories

Gender Differences in the Pathogenesis and Outcome of Lupus and of Lupus Nephritis

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) typically affects females at far greater rates than males; however male SLE patients often have more severe disease than females. The gender disparities have been reported in clinical manifestations and in serological and hematological indices as well. In particular, SLE complicated with nephritis is more frequent in men than women, and several groups identified male gender as a risk factor for progression to renal failure. The specific differences in pathogenesis amongst genders have yet to be conclusively defined, though genetic, hormonal, and immune responses have been analyzed thus far. Further research is warranted to further elucidate these differences and permit the development of gender-tailored treatment regimens

GEN MS 27 Early 20th-century German Print Collection Finding Aid

Description: Printed materials acquired by the donor\u27s father while serving in West Germany during the Cold War. The Collection contains 37 items, books and ephemeral material. Materials deal with German history from the beginning of World War I to the end of World War II. Dates span 1914 to 1983, with the bulk evenly spread between the periods of 1915-1923 and 1934-1942. The collection includes propaganda, war humor, poems, songs, and a film promotional leaflet; stories from German prisoners of war during WWI; and materials related to revolution (following World War I). The two issues of Stern magazine were published in 1983 but present articles on Adolf Hitler\u27s diaries, which were soon afterward exposed as a hoax. Date Range: 1914-1983 Size of Collection: 1.5 f

SemaFoRe: Comparing word retrieval treatments for aphasia via a randomised crossover trial.

Word retrieval difficulties are one of the most prevalent symptoms of aphasia and we now have good evidence from single-case studies and case series that some treatment methods for word retrieval result in improvements, at least with target words (see e.g. Nickels, 2002, for a review). However, important questions remain about predicting outcome for an individual given a particular treatment. This study, SemaFoRe, is a pilot cross-over RCT contrasting two commonly used treatments, Semantic Feature Analysis (SFA; Boyle, 2010) with Repetition in the Presence of the Picture (RIPP) . Both approaches have evidence to support them but they have some key differences: studies using SFA suggest generalisation to items not seen in treatment; it has a semantic focus and, potentially encourages clients to adopt a strategy to aid word retrieval. In contrast, RIPP has a phonological basis and is relatively simple therapy. The SemaFoRe study aims to: (i) Obtain the information needed to design and power a definitive cross-over RCT. (ii) Compare the effectiveness of SFA and RIPP (iii) Evaluate whether the effects of either treatment generalise (iv) Explore prediction of benefit/gain. Within the abstract we present data from an interim analysis of 9 participants who have completed all stages; by the time of the conference we will have final data from 23

Building Tremor Journal: Examining the Costs of Open Access Publishing

The Center for Digital Research and Scholarship (CDRS) was established in 2007 by the Columbia University Libraries/ Information Services (CUL/IS) to explore and provision new research support services for the university in all areas of scholarly communication, including online scholarly publishing. (Renfro and Neal, 2012) As the landscape for library publishing has continued to grow, CDRS has found an increasing level of demand for library-based support of publishing initiatives from within the University and beyond. Because of CDRS’ unique position as an organization housed within the existing CUL/IS infrastructure, the Center has access to a great deal of resources and support systems that have enabled it to provide a full suite of services in support of library-based publishing, including the publication of Tremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements (TOHM) journal (http://www.tremorjournal.org/), a fully open access scientific journal based on the Open Journal Systems (OJS) software. Using CDRS' publication and support of TOHM as a case study, this presentation will examine the costs involved in publishing an open access journal, moving beyond the basic setup and execution of a journal website capable of incorporating a peer-review workflow to look in detail at the specific essential services CDRS provides, including: Software development, hosting, and maintenance: The Center continually works to develop on top of the OJS software to customize the web site to allow for full journal publication workflow, including the build of a plugin to work with third-party vendors. Indexing support: In an effort to uphold the journal’s contribution to the scientific community, CDRS has successfully undertaken application for indexing in PubMed Central (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/), and continues to maintain this relationship. Finance management: Through the Center’s relationship with the library finance office, CDRS manages the journal’s finances, including author fees, waivers, and the incorporation of third-party funding and grants to the journal. Research and Development: A constant aspect of CDRS’ support for open-access publication through TOHM is the task of keeping abreast of new opportunities for enhancing the scholarly content through new software tools and platforms; metadata optimization and SEO tools; and methods for integration with the broader scientific research community. The support of TOHM speaks to the Center’s strategy for securing paths for the open access to scholarly research. Additionally, as exemplified by the Library Publishing Coalition’s (LPC) goal to “refine justification and positioning for library-based publishing activities,” (“LPC Project Deliverables”) it provides a useful mechanism for analysis of the opportunities the greater research library community has in the support of scholarly research publication