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Existing Work (existing + work)
Selected AbstractsReal-time simulation of watery paintCOMPUTER ANIMATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS (PREV: JNL OF VISUALISATION & COMPUTER ANIMATION), Issue 3-4 2005Tom Van Laerhoven Abstract Existing work on applications for thin watery paint is mostly focused on automatic generation of painterly-style images from input images, ignoring the fact that painting is a process that intuitively should be interactive. Efforts to create real-time interactive systems are limited to a single paint medium and results often suffer from a trade-off between real-timeness and simulation complexity. We report on the design of a new system that allows the real-time, interactive creation of images with thin watery paint. We mainly target the simulation of watercolor, but the system is also capable of simulating gouache and Oriental black ink. The motion of paint is governed by both physically based and heuristic rules in a layered canvas design. A final image is rendered by optically composing the layers using the Kubelka,Munk diffuse reflectance model. All algorithms that participate in the dynamics phase and the rendering phase of the simulation are implemented on graphics hardware. Images made with the system contain the typical effects that can be recognized in images produced with real thin paint, like the dark-edge effect, watercolor glazing, wet-on-wet painting and the use of different pigment types. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] An engineering approach to dynamic prediction of network performance from application logsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NETWORK MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2005Zalal Uddin Mohammad Abusina Network measurement traces contain information regarding network behavior over the period of observation. Research carried out from different contexts shows predictions of network behavior can be made depending on network past history. Existing works on network performance prediction use a complicated stochastic modeling approach that extrapolates past data to yield a rough estimate of long-term future network performance. However, prediction of network performance in the immediate future is still an unresolved problem. In this paper, we address network performance prediction as an engineering problem. The main contribution of this paper is to predict network performance dynamically for the immediate future. Our proposal also considers the practical implication of prediction. Therefore, instead of following the conventional approach to predict one single value, we predict a range within which network performance may lie. This range is bounded by our two newly proposed indices, namely, Optimistic Network Performance Index (ONPI) and Robust Network Performance Index (RNPI). Experiments carried out using one-year-long traffic traces between several pairs of real-life networks validate the usefulness of our model.,Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Local attachments and transnational everyday lives: second-generation Italians in SwitzerlandGLOBAL NETWORKS, Issue 3 2010SUSANNE WESSENDORF Abstract Many descendants of migrants grow up in the context of lively transnational social relations to their parents' homeland. Among southern Italian migrants in Switzerland, these relations are imbued with the wish to return among the first generation, a dream fostered since the beginning of their migration after the Second World War. Second-generation Italians have developed different ways of negotiating the transnational livelihoods fostered by their parents on the one hand, and the wish for local attachments on the other. In this article I discuss how the children of Italian migrants have created their own cultural repertoires of Italianità and belonging within Switzerland and with co-ethnic peers, and how, for some, this sense of belonging evokes the wish for ,roots migration', the relocation to the parents' homeland. With the example of two trajectories of local attachment and transnationalism among members of the second generation of the same origin, I question existing work on the second generation that assumes commonalities among them on the grounds of ethnicity and region of origin. [source] How Workers Fare When Employers InnovateINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 1 2004Sandra E. Black Complementing existing work on firm organizational structure and productivity, this article examines the impact of organizational change on workers. We find evidence that employers do appear to compensate at least some of their workers for engaging in high-performance workplace practices. We also find a significant association between high-performance workplace practices and increased wage inequality. Finally, we examine the relationship between organizational structure and employment changes and find that some practices, such as self-managed teams, are associated with greater employment reductions, whereas other practices, such as the percentage of workers involved in job rotation, are associated with lower employment reductions. [source] Blind separation of delayed instantaneous mixtures: a cross-correlation based approachINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADAPTIVE CONTROL AND SIGNAL PROCESSING, Issue 3 2004Muhammad Z. Ikram Abstract A cross-correlation based method is proposed for blind separation of statistically uncorrelated i.i.d. signals. In contrast to much of the existing work in the area, the proposed method allows the separation of more sources than sensors and the sensors are not restricted to have non-Gaussian distributions. The mixed signals are modelled as a sum of attenuated and delayed source signals. As compared to the delayless mixture model commonly employed in the literature, incorporating delays in the model may offer better fit to practical applications, such as source separation in an anechoic environment. We estimate the delay and attenuation parameters from the peak locations and strengths of the cross-correlation function, respectively. Using these parameters, we then discuss the use of four methods for the recovery of source signals. These methods are compared and their usage is proposed under different operating conditions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Robust partial least squares regression: Part II, new algorithm and benchmark studiesJOURNAL OF CHEMOMETRICS, Issue 1 2008Uwe Kruger Abstract This paper presents the second part of the work on robust partial least squares (RPLS) regression and develops a new RPLS algorithm based on the concept laid out in Part I. The paper also contrasts the new algorithm with existing work using two simulation examples. This comparison highlights (i) the impact of the flaws in existing RPLS work and (ii) the compromised sensitivity resulting from introducing simplifications to the determination of the Stahel,Donoho estimator (SDE). The paper finally presents an evaluation of the computational complexity of RPLS algorithms and examines the impact of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) upon the sensitivity of detecting outliers. The third part of this work will examine practical aspects of RPLS applications based on the analysis of experimental data. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Gossip as strategy: The management of talk about others on reality TV show ,Big Brother'JOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS, Issue 2 2004Joanna Thornborrow In this paper we examine the nature of gossip talk as an activity type in the context of the TV game show ,Big Brother'. Using a detailed analytic approach to the situated nature of gossip sequences, we show how participants in the show manage gossip talk strategically to establish social relationships within the house, as well as to present themselves in a positive way to the viewing (and voting) audience. We argue that there is a contextual double framing for talk in the Big Brother (BB) house which participants are orienting to, both as members of a social group, and as players in a TV game show. The paper thus contributes to existing work on the social function of gossip, as well as exploring its strategic function in this particular interactional context, calling into question the nature of ,natural' discourse. [source] Reconstructing Bronzeville: Racial Nostalgia and Neighborhood RedevelopmentJOURNAL OF URBAN AFFAIRS, Issue 2 2000Michelle Boyd Much of the existing work on heritage tourism emphasizes downtown or citywide tourism development. Yet, an increasing number of African American neighborhoods are using racial heritage tourism to revitalize their long neglected inner-city neighborhoods. This article examines the use of heritage in black neighborhoods and analyzes its use as a political resource. The development of heritage tourism encourages black communities to construct notions of authentic racial community, which they draw upon to legitimize both the processes of, and their role in, neighborhood redevelopment. [source] What makes a blockbuster?MANAGERIAL AND DECISION ECONOMICS, Issue 6 2002Economic analysis of film success in the United Kingdom In this paper, we attempt to evaluate whether a film's commercial performance can be forecast. The statistical distribution of film revenues in the UK is examined and found to have unbounded variance. This undermines much of the existing work relating a film's performance to its identifiable attributes within an OLS model. We adopt De Vany and Walls' approach and transform the revenue data into a binary variable and estimate the probability that a film's revenue will exceed a given threshold value; in other words, the probability of a blockbuster. Furthermore, we provide a sensitivity analysis around these threshold values. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Semi-Presidentialism: Concepts, Consequences and Contesting ExplanationsPOLITICAL STUDIES REVIEW, Issue 3 2004Robert Elgie In contrast to the work on presidentialism and parliamentarism, semi-presidentialism remains very much the poor relation in the debate about regime types. This is true both in the sense that there is less work on semi-presidential regimes and also because of the fact that semi-presidentialism has few advocates. This review examines the existing work on semi-presidentialism and asks three questions: What is semi-presidentialism? What is the main dependent variable in semi-presidential studies? And what is the most appropriate explanatory variable in such studies? It does provide some answers to these questions, but the main purpose is to highlight some of the most problematic issues in the contemporary study of semi-presidentialism. [source] HIV/AIDS, governance and development: the public administration factorPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION & DEVELOPMENT, Issue 1 2004Dominique Moran This paper provides an overview of the literature concerned with the impact of HIV on public administration, looking in particular at projections of the impact of HIV/AIDS on public expenditure, the impact of attrition on the health and education sectors and on the civil service as a whole. ,Success stories' such as Uganda and Senegal are discussed through their representation in the literature, and ,political commitment' is identified as a critical but under-theorised factor in tackling HIV. Having taken as its starting point the existing work on HIV and governance, the paper then considers the impact of the epidemic in conditions of state vacuum,conflict situations. The paper concludes that governance is both victim of, and part of the solution to, the problems of HIV/AIDS. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] OPTIMAL POLICY FOR PRODUCT R&D WITH ENDOGENOUS QUALITY ORDERING: ASYMMETRIC DUOPOLY,AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC PAPERS, Issue 2 2006NAOTO JINJI We examine the optimal R&D subsidy/tax policy under a vertically differentiated duopoly. In a significant departure from the existing work, we consider the case of asymmetric costs of product R&D where there is a small technology gap between firms. In our analysis, the endogeneity of quality ordering is explicitly taken into account. We demonstrate the possible anti-leapfrogging effect of R&D subsidy/tax policy. By committing to a firm-specific subsidy schedule contingent on firms' quality choices, the government can not only correct distortions in product quality but also select the socially preferred equilibrium. The latter role is fulfilled by preventing the technologically inferior firm from becoming a quality leader in the industry. Both Bertrand and Cournot cases are analysed. [source] Partly Functional Temporal Process Regression with Semiparametric Profile Estimating FunctionsBIOMETRICS, Issue 2 2009Jun Yan Summary Marginal mean models of temporal processes in event time data analysis are gaining more attention for their milder assumptions than the traditional intensity models. Recent work on fully functional temporal process regression (TPR) offers great flexibility by allowing all the regression coefficients to be nonparametrically time varying. The existing estimation procedure, however, prevents successive goodness-of-fit test for covariate coefficients in comparing a sequence of nested models. This article proposes a partly functional TPR model in the line of marginal mean models. Some covariate effects are time independent while others are completely unspecified in time. This class of models is very rich, including the fully functional model and the semiparametric model as special cases. To estimate the parameters, we propose semiparametric profile estimating equations, which are solved via an iterative algorithm, starting at a consistent estimate from a fully functional model in the existing work. No smoothing is needed, in contrast to other varying-coefficient methods. The weak convergence of the resultant estimators are developed using the empirical process theory. Successive tests of time-varying effects and backward model selection procedure can then be carried out. The practical usefulness of the methodology is demonstrated through a simulation study and a real example of recurrent exacerbation among cystic fibrosis patients. [source] Aqueous Foams: A Field of Investigation at the Frontier Between Chemistry and PhysicsCHEMPHYSCHEM, Issue 4 2008Dominique Langevin Dr. Abstract This paper reviews the properties of aqueous foams. The current state of knowledge is summarized briefly and the interdisciplinary aspects of this field of investigation are emphasized. Many phenomena are controlled by physical laws, but they are highly dependent upon the chemicals used as foam stabilizers: surfactants, polymers, particles. Most of the existing work is related to surfactants and polymer foams, and little is known yet for particle foams although research in this field is becoming popular. This article presents the general concepts used to describe the monolayers and the films and also some of the recent advances being made in this area. 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