Abstract: With the beginning of the new century, man still faces
many challenges in how to form and develop his urban environment. To meet these challenges, many cities have tried to develop its visual
image. This is by transforming their urban environment into a branded visual image; this is at the level of squares, the main roads, the borders, and the landmarks.
In this realm, the paper aims at activating the role of branded urban spaces as an approach for the development of visual image of cities, especially in Egypt. It concludes the need to recognize the importance of developing the visual image in Egypt, through directing the urban planners to the important role of such spaces in achieving sustainability.
Abstract: In this paper we investigate numerically positive solutions of the equation -Δu = λuq+up with Dirichlet boundary condition in a boundary domain ╬® for λ > 0 and 0 < q < 1 < p < 2*, we will compute and visualize the range of λ, this problem achieves a numerical solution.
Abstract: Evaluation of educational portals is an important
subject area that needs more attention from researchers. A university
that has an educational portal which is difficult to use and interact by
teachers or students or management staff can reduce the position and
reputation of the university. Therefore, it is important to have the
ability to make an evaluation of the quality of e-services the
university provide to improve them over time.
The present study evaluates the usability of the Information
Technology Faculty portal at University of Benghazi. Two evaluation
methods were used: a questionnaire-based method and an online
automated tool-based method. The first method was used to measure
the portal's external attributes of usability (Information, Content and
Organization of the portal, Navigation, Links and Accessibility,
Aesthetic and Visual Appeal, Performance and Effectiveness and
educational purpose) from users' perspectives, while the second
method was used to measure the portal's internal attributes of
usability (number and size of HTML files, number and size of images,
load time, HTML check errors, browsers compatibility problems,
number of bad and broken links), which cannot be perceived by the
users. The study showed that some of the usability aspects have been
found at the acceptable level of performance and quality, and some
others have been found otherwise. In general, it was concluded that
the usability of IT faculty educational portal generally acceptable.
Recommendations and suggestions to improve the weakness and
quality of the portal usability are presented in this study.
Abstract: Computerized lip reading has been one of the most
actively researched areas of computer vision in recent past because
of its crime fighting potential and invariance to acoustic environment.
However, several factors like fast speech, bad pronunciation,
poor illumination, movement of face, moustaches and beards make
lip reading difficult. In present work, we propose a solution for
automatic lip contour tracking and recognizing letters of English
language spoken by speakers using the information available from
lip movements. Level set method is used for tracking lip contour
using a contour velocity model and a feature vector of lip movements
is then obtained. Character recognition is performed using modified
k nearest neighbor algorithm which assigns more weight to nearer
neighbors. The proposed system has been found to have accuracy
of 73.3% for character recognition with speaker lip movements as
the only input and without using any speech recognition system in
parallel. The approach used in this work is found to significantly
solve the purpose of lip reading when size of database is small.
Abstract: National Biodiversity Database System (NBIDS) has
been developed for collecting Thai biodiversity data. The goal of this
project is to provide advanced tools for querying, analyzing,
modeling, and visualizing patterns of species distribution for
researchers and scientists. NBIDS data record two types of datasets:
biodiversity data and environmental data. Biodiversity data are
specie presence data and species status. The attributes of biodiversity
data can be further classified into two groups: universal and projectspecific
attributes. Universal attributes are attributes that are common
to all of the records, e.g. X/Y coordinates, year, and collector name.
Project-specific attributes are attributes that are unique to one or a
few projects, e.g., flowering stage. Environmental data include
atmospheric data, hydrology data, soil data, and land cover data
collecting by using GLOBE protocols. We have developed webbased
tools for data entry. Google Earth KML and ArcGIS were used
as tools for map visualization. webMathematica was used for simple
data visualization and also for advanced data analysis and
visualization, e.g., spatial interpolation, and statistical analysis.
NBIDS will be used by park rangers at Khao Nan National Park, and
researchers.
Abstract: In this paper, a novel copyright protection scheme for digital images based on Visual Cryptography and Statistics is proposed. In our scheme, the theories and properties of sampling distribution of means and visual cryptography are employed to achieve the requirements of robustness and security. Our method does not need to alter the original image and can identify the ownership without resorting to the original image. Besides, our method allows multiple watermarks to be registered for a single host image without causing any damage to other hidden watermarks. Moreover, it is also possible for our scheme to cast a larger watermark into a smaller host image. Finally, experimental results will show the robustness of our scheme against several common attacks.
Abstract: Architecture as a form of art, whilst actively
developing, finds new methods and conceptions. Currently,
architectural animation is actively developing as a step, successive to
architectural visualization. Interesting vistas of architectural ideas
were discovered by artists of Japanese animation, in which there are
traditional spirits, kami, and imaginary spaces relating to them.
Anime art should be considered abstract painting, another kind of an
architectural workshop, where new architectural ideas are generated.
Abstract: Despite the internet, which is one of the mass media
that has become quite common in recent years, the relationship of
Advertisement with Television and Cinema, which have always
drawn attention of researchers as basic media and where visual use is
in the foreground, have also become the subject of various studies.
Based on the assumption that the known fundamental effects of
advertisements on consumers are closely related to the creative
process of advertisements as well as the nature and characteristics of
the medium where they are used, these basic mass media (Television
and Cinema) and the consumer motivations of the advertisements
they broadcast have become a focus of study.
Given that the viewers of the mass media in question have shifted
from a passive position to a more active one especially in recent years
and approach contents of advertisements, as they do all contents, in a
more critical and “pitiless" manner, it is possible to say that
individuals make more use of advertisements than in the past and
combine their individual goals with the goals of the advertisements.
This study, which aims at finding out what the goals of these new
individual advertisement use are, how they are shaped by the distinct
characteristics of Television and Cinema, where visuality takes
precedence as basic mass media, and what kind of places they occupy
in the minds of consumers, has determined consumers- motivations
as: “Entertainment", “Escapism", “Play", “Monitoring/Discovery",
“Opposite Sex" and “Aspirations and Role Models".
This study intends to reveal the differences or similarities among
the needs and hence the gratifications of viewers who consume
advertisements on Television or at the Cinema, which are two basic
media where visuality is prioritized.
Abstract: This paper proposes a novel architecture for developing decision support systems. Unlike conventional decision support systems, the proposed architecture endeavors to reveal the decision-making process such that humans' subjectivity can be incorporated into a computerized system and, at the same time, to preserve the capability of the computerized system in processing information objectively. A number of techniques used in developing the decision support system are elaborated to make the decisionmarking process transparent. These include procedures for high dimensional data visualization, pattern classification, prediction, and evolutionary computational search. An artificial data set is first employed to compare the proposed approach with other methods. A simulated handwritten data set and a real data set on liver disease diagnosis are then employed to evaluate the efficacy of the proposed approach. The results are analyzed and discussed. The potentials of the proposed architecture as a useful decision support system are demonstrated.
Abstract: Sequences of execution of algorithms in an interactive
manner using multimedia tools are employed in this paper. It helps to
realize the concept of fundamentals of algorithms such as searching
and sorting method in a simple manner. Visualization gains more
attention than theoretical study and it is an easy way of learning
process. We propose methods for finding runtime sequence of each
algorithm in an interactive way and aims to overcome the drawbacks
of the existing character systems. System illustrates each and every
step clearly using text and animation. Comparisons of its time
complexity have been carried out and results show that our approach
provides better perceptive of algorithms.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is two-fold. First, it attempts to explore potential opportunities for utilizing visual interactive simulations along with Business Intelligence (BI) as a decision support tool for strategic decision making. Second, it tries to figure out the essential top-level managerial requirements that would transform strategic decision simulation into an integral component of BI systems. The domain of particular interest was the application of visual interactive simulation capabilities in the field of supply chains. A qualitative exploratory method was applied, through the use of interviews with two leading companies. The collected data was then analysed to demonstrate the difference between the literature perspective and the practical managerial perspective on the issue. The results of the study suggest that although the use of simulation particularly in managing supply chains is very evident in literature, yet, in practice such utilization is still in its infancy, particularly regarding strategic decisions. Based on the insights a prototype of a simulation based BI-solution-extension was developed and evaluated.
Abstract: Six parameters, the effective diffusivity (De),
activation energy of De, pre-exponential factor of De, amount
(ASOW) of self-organized water species, and amplitude (α) of the
forced oscillation of the molecular mobility (1/tC) derived from the
forced cyclic temperature change operation, were characterized by
using six typical foods, squid, sardines, scallops, salmon, beef, and
pork, as a function of the correlation time (tC) of the water molecule-s
proton retained in the foods. Each of the six parameters was clearly
divided into the water species A1 and A2 at a specified value of tC
=10-8s (=CtC), indicating an anomalous change in the physicochemical
nature of the water species at the CtC. The forced oscillation of 1/tC
clearly demonstrated a characteristic mode depending on the food
shown as a three dimensional map associated with 1/tC, the amount of
self-organized water, and tC.
Abstract: Digital watermarking is the process of embedding
information into a digital signal which can be used in DRM (digital
rights managements) system. The visible watermark (often called logo)
can indicate the owner of the copyright which can often be seen in the
TV program and protects the copyright in an active way. However,
most of the schemes do not consider the visible watermark removing
process. To solve this problem, a visible watermarking scheme with
embedding and removing process is proposed under the control of a
secure template. The template generates different version of
watermarks which can be seen visually the same for different users.
Users with the right key can completely remove the watermark and
recover the original image while the unauthorized user is prevented to
remove the watermark. Experiment results show that our
watermarking algorithm obtains a good visual quality and is hard to be
removed by the illegally users. Additionally, the authorized users can
completely remove the visible watermark and recover the original
image with a good quality.
Abstract: Public parks are placed high on the research agenda, with many studies addressing their social, economic and environment influences in different countries around the world. They have been recognized as contributors to the physical quality of urban environments. Recently, a broader view of public parks has emerged. This view goes well beyond the traditional value of parks as places for more recreation and visual delight, to depict them as valuable contributors to broader strategic objectives, such as property values, place attractiveness, job opportunities, social belonging, public health, tourist development, and improving the overall quality of life. This research examines the role of public parks in enhancing the quality of human life in Egyptian environment. It measures 'quality of life' in terms of 'human needs' and 'well-being'. This should open ways for policymakers, practitioners, researchers and the public to realize the potentials of public parks towards improving the quality of life.
Abstract: A social network is a set of people or organization or other social entities connected by some form of relationships. Analysis of social network broadly elaborates visual and mathematical representation of that relationship. Web can also be considered as a social network. This paper presents an innovative approach to analyze a social network using a variant of existing ant colony optimization algorithm called as Clever Ant Colony Metaphor. Experiments are performed and interesting findings and observations have been inferred based on the proposed model.
Abstract: LabVIEW and SIMULINK are two most widely used
graphical programming environments for designing digital signal
processing and control systems. Unlike conventional text-based
programming languages such as C, Cµ and MATLAB, graphical
programming involves block-based code developments, allowing a
more efficient mechanism to build and analyze control systems. In
this paper a LabVIEW environment has been employed as a
graphical user interface for monitoring the operation of a controlled
distillation column, by visualizing both the closed loop performance
and the user selected control conditions, while the column dynamics
has been modeled under the SIMULINK environment. This tool has
been applied to the PID based decoupled control of a binary
distillation column. By means of such integrated environments the
control designer is able to monitor and control the plant behavior and
optimize the response when both, the quality improvement of
distillation products and the operation efficiency tasks, are
considered.
Abstract: Visual secret sharing (VSS) was proposed by Naor and Shamir in 1995. Visual secret sharing schemes encode a secret image into two or more share images, and single share image can’t obtain any information about the secret image. When superimposes the shares, it can restore the secret by human vision. Due to the traditional VSS have some problems like pixel expansion and the cost of sophisticated. And this method only can encode one secret image. The schemes of encrypting more secret images by random grids into two shares were proposed by Chen et al. in 2008. But when those restored secret images have much distortion, those schemes are almost limited in decoding. In the other words, if there is too much distortion, we can’t encrypt too much information. So, if we can adjust distortion to very small, we can encrypt more secret images. In this paper, four new algorithms which based on Chang et al.’s scheme be held in 2010 are proposed. First algorithm can adjust distortion to very small. Second algorithm distributes the distortion into two restored secret images. Third algorithm achieves no distortion for special secret images. Fourth algorithm encrypts three secret images, which not only retain the advantage of VSS but also improve on the problems of decoding.
Abstract: In contrast to existing methods which do not take into account multiconnectivity in a broad sense of this term, we develop mathematical models and highly effective combination (BIEM and FDM) numerical methods of calculation of stationary and cvazistationary temperature field of a profile part of a blade with convective cooling (from the point of view of realization on PC). The theoretical substantiation of these methods is proved by appropriate theorems. For it, converging quadrature processes have been developed and the estimations of errors in the terms of A.Ziqmound continuity modules have been received. For visualization of profiles are used: the method of the least squares with automatic conjecture, device spline, smooth replenishment and neural nets. Boundary conditions of heat exchange are determined from the solution of the corresponding integral equations and empirical relationships. The reliability of designed methods is proved by calculation and experimental investigations heat and hydraulic characteristics of the gas turbine 1st stage nozzle blade
Abstract: Numerical investigation of flow around a square cylinder are presented using the multi-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann methods at different Reynolds numbers. A detail analysis are given in terms of time-trace analysis of drag and lift coefficients, power spectra analysis of lift coefficient, vorticity contours visualizations, streamlines and phase diagrams. A number of physical quantities mean drag coefficient, drag coefficient, Strouhal number and root-mean-square values of drag and lift coefficients are calculated and compared with the well resolved experimental data and numerical results available in open literature. The Reynolds numbers affected the physical quantities.
Abstract: This paper presents an new vision technique for
robotic manipulation of randomly oriented objects in industrial
applications. The proposed approach uses 2D and 3D vision for
efficiently extracting the 3D pose of an object in the presence of
multiple randomly positioned objects. 2D vision permits to quickly
select the objects of interest for 3D processing with a new modified
ICP algorithm (FaR-ICP), thus reducing significantly the processing
time. The extracted 3D pose is then sent to the robot manipulator for
picking. The tests show that the proposed system achieves high
performances