Colour Communication Within Different Languages

For computational methods aiming to reproduce colour names that are meaningful to speakers of different languages, the mapping between perceptual and linguistic aspects of colour is a problem of central information processing. This thesis advances the field of computational colour communication within different languages in five main directions. First, we show that web-based experimental methodologies offer considerable advantages in obtaining a large number of colour naming responses in British and American English, Greek, Russian, Thai and Turkish. We continue with the application of machine learning methods to discover criteria in linguistic, behavioural and geometric features of colour names that distinguish classes of colours. We show that primary colour terms do not form a coherent class, whilst achromatic and basic classes do. We then propose and evaluate a computational model trained by human responses in the online experiment to automate the assignment of colour names in different languages across the full three-dimensional colour gamut. Fourth, we determine for the first time the location of colour names within a physiologically-based cone excitation space through an unconstrained colour naming experiment using a calibrated monitor under controlled viewing conditions. We show a good correspondence between online and offline datasets; and confirm the validity of both experimental methodologies for estimating colour naming functions in laboratory and real-world monitor settings. Finally, we present a novel information theoretic measure, called dispensability, for colour categories that predicts a gradual scale of basicness across languages from both web- and laboratory- based unconstrained colour naming datasets. As a result, this thesis contributes experimental and computational methodologies towards the development of multilingual colour communication schemes

The population structure of \u3cem\u3eMesobuthus gibbosus\u3c/em\u3e (Scorpiones: Buthidae) on Koufonisi Island (central Aegean Archipelago, Greece)

The population structure of Mesobuthus gibbosus was studied over 261 night-hours of sampling during 29 consecutive nights on Koufonisi Island (central Aegean Archipelago, Greece) using the capture-recapture method. The studied population proved to be the densest of all studied scorpion populations in chaparral or intertidal habitats of Mediterranean type ecosystems and even comparable to some populations of desert scorpion species. The negative influence of moon phase on the general activity of the species and synchronization in parturition were the main factors that caused the fluctuations in population density and therefore in the percentage of active scorpions

The effect of insularity on the seasonal population structure of \u3cem\u3eMesobuthus gibbosus\u3c/em\u3e (Scorpiones: Buthidae)

We compared the population structure of Mesobuthus gibbosus from autumn to mid-summer at two similar phryganic ecosystems, one in continental Greece (Thessalia, near Volos city) and one in insular Greece (eastern Crete). Data were collected monthly using the capture-recapture method. At both sites, density was low during the cold period and increased towards summer. During the samplings, only a small percentage of each population was present. Population density and co-occurrence of scorpions with scorpions or other animals was higher in Crete than in Volos, probably due to the higher inter- and intraspecific competition in Volos. The population structure of the studied species depends on the interspecific competition, the seasonal fluctuations of which influence the intraspecific relations of scorpions, which is reflected in the higher degree of sociality of the insular population

The current situation and the attitudes of judicial officials in Greece regarding their training needs

The education and training of the judiciary is an issue that concerns the quality and efficiency of the judicial system. The aim of this research is to investigate the current situation and attitudes of judicial officers of the criminal-civil courts, administrative courts, and prosecutors' offices in Greece regarding their training and education. They received this training both during their first period of appointment (introductory training) and during their period of service (continuing training). There is very little research on the training and education of judicial officials in Greece, which makes this research necessary. An online structured questionnaire, consisting of seven sections, was designed for the needs of the survey, which was answered by 273 respondents. The results of the survey indicate the absence of organized training by the judicial officers' branch, as well as the increase in the performance and effectiveness of judicial officers when they are trained. Finally, possible solutions and improvements for the education-training policy of judicial officials are proposed

Augmenting a colour lexicon

Languages differ markedly in the number of colour terms in their lexicons. The Himba, for example, a remote culture in Namibia, were reported in 2005 to have only a 5-colour term language. We re-examined their colour naming using a novel computer-based method drawing colours from across the gamut rather than only from the saturated shell of colour space that is the norm in cross-cultural colour research. Measuring confidence in communication, the Himba now have seven terms, or more properly categories, that are independent of other colour terms. Thus, we report the first augmentation of major terms, namely green and brown, to a colour lexicon in any language. A critical examination of supervised and unsupervised machine-learning approaches across the two datasets collected at different periods shows that perceptual mechanisms can, at most, only to some extent explain colour category formation and that cultural factors, such as linguistic similarity are the critical driving force for augmenting colour terms and effective colour communication

An online colour naming experiment in Russian using Munsell colour samples

Russian colour naming was explored in a web-based psycholinguistic experiment. The purpose was threefold: to examine (i) CIELAB coordinates of centroids for 12 Russian basic colour terms (BCTs), including two Russian terms for ‘blue’, sinij ‘dark blue’ and goluboj ‘light blue’, and compare these with coordinates for the 11 English BCTs obtained in earlier studies; (ii) frequent non-BCTs and (iii) gender differences in colour naming. Native Russian speakers participated in the experiment using an unconstrained colour-naming method. Each participant named 20 colours, selected from 600 colours densely sampling the Munsell Color Solid. Colour names and response times of typing onset were registered. Several deviations between centroids of the Russian and English BCTs were found. The two Russian ‘blues’, as expected, divided the BLUE area along the lightness dimension; their centroids deviated from a centroid of English blue. Further minor departures were found between centroids of Russian and English counterparts of ‘brown’ and ‘red’. The Russian colour inventory confirmed the linguistic refinement of the PURPLE area, with high frequencies of non-BCTs. In addition, Russian speakers revealed elaborated naming strategies and use of a rich inventory of non-BCTs. Elicitation frequencies of the 12 BCTs were comparable for both genders; however, linguistic segmentation of colour space, employing a synthetic observer, revealed gender differences in naming colours, with more refined naming of the “warm” colours from females. We conclude that, along with universal perceptual factors, that govern categorical partition of colour space, Russian speakers’ colour naming reflects language-specific factors, supporting the weak relativity hypothesis

Gender Differences in Russian Colour Naming

In the present study we explored Russian colour naming in a web-based psycholinguistic experiment (http://www.colournaming.com). Colour singletons representing the Munsell Color Solid (N=600 in total) were presented on a computer monitor and named using an unconstrained colour-naming method. Respondents were Russian speakers (N=713). For gender-split equal-size samples (NF=333, NM=333) we estimated and compared (i) location of centroids of 12 Russian basic colour terms (BCTs); (ii) the number of words in colour descriptors; (iii) occurrences of BCTs most frequent non-BCTs. We found a close correspondence between females’ and males’ BCT centroids. Among individual BCTs, the highest inter-gender agreement was for seryj ‘grey’ and goluboj ‘light blue’, while the lowest was for sinij ‘dark blue’ and krasnyj ‘red’. Females revealed a significantly richer repertory of distinct colour descriptors, with great variety of monolexemic non-BCTs and “fancy” colour names; in comparison, males offered relatively more BCTs or their compounds. Along with these measures, we gauged denotata of most frequent CTs, reflected by linguistic segmentation of colour space, by employing a synthetic observer trained by gender-specific responses. This psycholinguistic representation revealed females’ more refined linguistic segmentation, compared to males, with higher linguistic density predominantly along the redgreen axis of colour space

Implicit large eddy simulation of turbulent duct flows

Ducts can be found in ventilation systems, cooling ducts and blade passages of turbines, centrifugal pumps and many other engineering installations. The properties of the flow in ducts can significantly affect the performance and efficiency of these installation areas. The majority of the flows in ducts and engineering applications are turbulent. The work presented in this thesis focuses on the analysis of turbulent flows inside square sectioned ducts and ducts with bends. The accuracy of three different high resolution high order schemes in the context of Implicit Large Eddy Simulation (ILES) is analysed. The influence of a low Mach limiting technique, Low Mach Number Treatment (LMNT) is also studied. The schemes employed are Monotonic Upwind Scheme for Scalar Conservation Laws (MUSCL) with a 2nd order Monotonized Central (MC) and 5th order limiter, and a 9th order Weighted Essential Non-Oscillatory (WENO) limiter. The first case studied is a duct of square cross section . In the absence of experimental data for the duct case, the data from a plain channel flow is used to shed light on the results. The flow analysis points out the generation of secondary motions created by the existence of surrounding walls. All schemes employed lead to a similarly developed turbulent flow that is used to provide the turbulent boundary profile for the following case. LMNT proves to significantly assist MUSCL 2nd and 5th, that use it, in providing a turbulent profile similar to that of WENO 9th that did not employ the technique but is inherently less dissipative. The second case under study is that of a square sectioned duct with a 90o bend. The simulation output is in good agreement both qualitatively and quantitatively with the experimental data available in the literature. The generation of secondary flows inside the bend is observed without flow separation. Although the turbulent flow entering the domain is almost the same for all cases, differences between the schemes are noticed especially after the middle of the bend. LMNT leads to an overprediction of turbulence after that area for both schemes employing it while WENO 9th without LMNT provides the most accurate results compared to those provided by the experiment. The results demonstrate applicability of ILES to strongly confined flows with secondary motions and shed light on cognitive properties of a wide range of state of the art schemes.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Intergenerational differences in Russian color naming in the globalized era: linguistic analysis

The present study is an apparent-time analysis of color terms in Russian native speakers (N = 1927), whose age varied between 16 and 98 years. Stratified sampling was employed with the following age groups: 16–19, 20–29, and so on, with the oldest group of 70 years and over. Color names were elicited in a web-based psycholinguistic experiment (http://colournaming.com). Participants labeled color samples (N = 606) using an unconstrained color-naming method. Color vocabulary of each age group was estimated using multiple linguistic measures: diversity index; frequency of occurrences of 12 Russian basic color terms (BCTs) and of most frequent non-BCTs; color-naming pattern. Our findings show intergenerational differences in Russian color-term vocabulary, color-naming patterns, and object referents. The CT diversity (measured by the Margalef index) progressively increments with speakers’ juniority; the lexical refinement is manifested by the increasing variety of BCT modifiers and growing use of non-BCTs, both traditional and novel. Furthermore, the most frequent Russian non-BCTs sirenevyj “lilac”, salatovyj “lettuce‐colored”, and birûzovyj “turquoise” appear to be the emerging BCTs. The greatest diversity and richness of CT inventory is observed in Russian speakers aged 20–59 years, i.e., those who constitute the active workforce and are enthusiastic consumers. In comparison, speakers of 60 and over manifest less diverse color inventory and greater prevalence of (modified) BCTs. The two youngest groups (16–29 years) are linguistic innovators: their color vocabulary includes abundant recent loanwords, predominantly from English and, not infrequently, CTs as nouns rather than adjectives. Moreover, Generation Z (16–19 years) tend to offer highly specific or idiosyncratic color descriptors that serve expressive rather than informative function. The apprehended dynamics of color naming in apparent time reflects intergenerational differences as such, but even more so dramatic changes of sociocultural reality in the post-Soviet era, whereby Russian speakers, in particular under 60 years, were/are greatly impacted by globalization of trade: new market product arrivals resulted in adoption of novel and elaboration of traditional CTs for efficient communication about perceived colo

Paired spawning with male rotation of meagre Argyrosomus regius using GnRHa injections, as a method for producing multiple families for breeding selection programs

Weekly gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) injections were used to induce spawning in paired male and female meagre (Argyrosomus regius) with a weekly rotation of the males, in order to produce a large number of families, as a method to facilitate selective breeding programs. Two different broodstocks were used (HCMR and IRTA), with females of mean weights of 11.7 ± 2.6 kg and 20.0 ± 1.8 kg, and males of 10.2 ± 1.2 kg and 15.1 ± 1.0 kg, respectively. A single GnRHa injection of 15 μg kg−1 was administered to each selected female, and 7.5 or 15 μg kg−1 to each male to induce spawning. In the subsequent weeks, maturity was checked and fish were induced as above, but males (n = 18) were rotated to form a different pair with the selected females (n = 21). Experiments finished when all paired combinations had been completed or a fish lost maturity status and could not be induced further. A total of 56 families were produced with a mean number of eggs from each family of 87,666 ± 11,244 eggs kg−1. There was a decline in the fecundity, number of spawns and percentage of pairs that spawned successfully after consecutive weekly GnRHa injections. Relative fecundity declined significantly from 134,495 ± 25,557 eggs kg−1 female body weight after the first injection, to 44,252 ± 17,638 eggs kg−1 after the fourth injection. However, there were no differences amongst weeks in egg fertilization success, hatching success or larval survival to 5 days post hatch. The decrease in fecundity and spawning success was attributed to a loss of maturity observed in the females, which may be related to differences in mate selection strategies between male and female meagre. The study demonstrated that paired spawning with male rotation was a successful method that can be used for breeding programs to produce a limit of three families per female or as a scaling up step to produce large numbers of offspring from a limited number of selected pairs.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio