Active Object Localization in Visual Situations

We describe a method for performing active localization of objects in instances of visual situations. A visual situation is an abstract concept---e.g., "a boxing match", "a birthday party", "walking the dog", "waiting for a bus"---whose image instantiations are linked more by their common spatial and semantic structure than by low-level visual similarity. Our system combines given and learned knowledge of the structure of a particular situation, and adapts that knowledge to a new situation instance as it actively searches for objects. More specifically, the system learns a set of probability distributions describing spatial and other relationships among relevant objects. The system uses those distributions to iteratively sample object proposals on a test image, but also continually uses information from those object proposals to adaptively modify the distributions based on what the system has detected. We test our approach's ability to efficiently localize objects, using a situation-specific image dataset created by our group. We compare the results with several baselines and variations on our method, and demonstrate the strong benefit of using situation knowledge and active context-driven localization. Finally, we contrast our method with several other approaches that use context as well as active search for object localization in images.Comment: 14 page

Autonomous power system intelligent diagnosis and control

The Autonomous Power System (APS) project at NASA Lewis Research Center is designed to demonstrate the abilities of integrated intelligent diagnosis, control, and scheduling techniques to space power distribution hardware. Knowledge-based software provides a robust method of control for highly complex space-based power systems that conventional methods do not allow. The project consists of three elements: the Autonomous Power Expert System (APEX) for fault diagnosis and control, the Autonomous Intelligent Power Scheduler (AIPS) to determine system configuration, and power hardware (Brassboard) to simulate a space based power system. The operation of the Autonomous Power System as a whole is described and the responsibilities of the three elements - APEX, AIPS, and Brassboard - are characterized. A discussion of the methodologies used in each element is provided. Future plans are discussed for the growth of the Autonomous Power System

Craftsmanship Alone is Not Enough

An exhibition co-curated with Anthony Quinn celebrating a century of ceramics at the Central School of Art and Central Saint Martins. The exhibition featured work drawn from the CSM Museum and Study Collection dating back to the 1940's alongside photographic documentary images from the earliest days of the course in the 1920's. Works loaned from graduates and former lecturers from 1951 till the present formed the largest part of the exhibition. An illustrated publication of the same title was produced to accompany the show with reflections on the course by its graduates and essays by current members of BA Ceramic Design. A programme of events and lectures was developed running alongside the exhibition. In addition a further collection of work was curated for the windows of the Pangolin Gallery in Kings Place to extend the reach of the exhibition. A collection of original glaze samples belonging to Dora Billington, the founder of the course were loaned to the college and have since been donated to the Museum and Study Collection

Ceramic composition at Chalcolithic Shiqmim, northern Negev desert, Israel: investigating technology and provenance using thin section petrography, instrumental geochemistry and calcareous nannofossils

Technological innovations in ceramic production and other crafts are hallmarks of the Chalcolithic period (4500–3600 BCE) in the southern Levant, but details of manufacturing traditions have not been fully investigated using the range of analytical methods currently available. This paper presents results of a compositional study of 51 sherds of ceramic churns and other pottery types from the Chalcolithic site of Shiqmim in the northern Negev desert. By applying complementary thin section petrography, instrumental geochemistry and calcareous nannofossil analyses, connections between the raw materials, clay paste recipes and vessel forms of the selected ceramic samples are explored and documented. The study indicates that steps in ceramic manufacturing can be related to both technological choices and local geology. Detailed reporting of the resulting data facilitates future comparative ceramic compositional research that is needed as a basis for testable regional syntheses and to better resolve networks of trade/exchange and social group movement

Developing Digital Citizens Using Social-Emotional Competencies

The purpose of this study is to determine how social media affects the behavior of elementary-aged children and how to apply the specific social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies students need to develop in order to have a successful online experience. There is a need for elementary-aged children to use social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies on social media. The purpose of this mixed-methods sequential phase design study is to explore the parent perception of the relationship between social-emotional learning (SEL) and social media use in the behavior of elementary students. Through the use of questionnaires and a focus group, the researchers found themes that emerged from the data to understand the parent perception of the relationship between children utilizing SEL competencies and the influence of social media on their children. Some of the themes included: a lack of self-esteem, the importance of eating meals together, utilizing boundaries, and adults modeling appropriate online behavior

Antigen-Experienced CD4lo T Cells Are Linked to Deficient Contraction of the Immune Response in Autoimmune Diabetes

Following proper activation, naïve “CD4lo” T cells differentiate into effector T cells with enhanced expression of CD4 -“CD4hi” effectors. Autoimmune diabetes-prone NOD mice display a unique set of antigen-experienced “CD4lo” T cells that persist after primary stimulation. Here, we report that a population of such cells remained after secondary and tertiary TCR stimulation and produced cytokines upon antigenic challenge. However, when NOD blasts were induced in the presence of rIL-15, the number of antigen-experienced “CD4lo” T cells was significantly reduced. Clonal contraction, mediated in part by CD95-dependent activation-induced cell death (AICD), normally regulates the accumulation of “CD4hi” effectors. Interestingly, CD95 expression was dramatically reduced on the AICD-resistant NOD “CD4lo” T cells. Thus, while autoimmune disease has often been attributed to the engagement of robust autoimmunity, we suggest that the inability to effectively contract the immune response distinguishes benign autoimmunity from progressive autoimmune diseases that are characterized by chronic T cell-mediated inflammation

‘the whole window just shatters into a million pieces and it doesn’t make any sound’: an examination of ‘affordance’ and situational cues for theft from a motor vehicle

© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd., part of Springer Nature. Much offending, particularly acts of acquisitive crime, is influenced by whether there is a discernible opportunity to take advantage of. The success of this can be determined by the presence or absence of certain characteristics in the immediate environment and how they are interpreted to facilitate gain by an offender. This study explores some of these techniques or ‘affordances’ that have been adopted by individuals when seeking to commit Theft from a motor vehicle offences. This insight is gleaned through qualitative one-to-one interviews with participants who have received criminal convictions for this crime type. There is an evaluation of how offender awareness of affordances could lead to the vulnerability of certain contexts as subsequently, ideas of countermeasures against these offending opportunities are offered