Search results for "Salient"
showing 10 items of 64 documents
Rocking of rigid block on nonlinear flexible foundation
2017
Abstract The two prime models used currently to describe rocking of rigid bodies, the Housner’s model and the Winkler foundation model, can capture some of the salient features of the physics of this important problem. These two models involve either null or linear interaction between the block and the foundation. Hopefully, some additional aspects of the problem can be captured by an enhanced nonlinear model for the base-foundation interaction. In this regard, what it is adopted in this paper is the Hunt and Crossley’s nonlinear impact force model in which the impact/contact force is represented by springs in parallel with nonlinear dampers. In this regard, a proper mathematical formulatio…
Visual saliency detection in colour images based on density estimation
2017
International audience; A simple and effective method for visual saliency detection in colour images is presented. The method is based on the common observation that local salient regions exhibit distinct geometric and and texture patterns from neighbouring regions. We model the colour distribution of local image patches with a Gaussian density and measure the saliency of each patch as the statistical distance from that density. Experimental results with public datasets and comparison with other state-of-the-art methods show the effectiveness of our method.
Can colours be used to segment words when reading?
2015
Rayner, Fischer, and Pollatsek (1998, Vision Research) demonstrated that reading unspaced text in Indo-European languages produces a substantial reading cost in word identification (as deduced from an increased word-frequency effect on target words embedded in the unspaced vs. spaced sentences) and in eye movement guidance (as deduced from landing sites closer to the beginning of the words in unspaced sentences). However, the addition of spaces between words comes with a cost: nearby words may fall outside high-acuity central vision, thus reducing the potential benefits of parafoveal processing. In the present experiment, we introduced a salient visual cue intended to facilitate the process…
Human voice pitch measures are robust across a variety of speech recordings: methodological and theoretical implications
2021
Fundamental frequency ( f o ), perceived as voice pitch, is the most sexually dimorphic, perceptually salient and intensively studied voice parameter in human nonverbal communication. Thousands of studies have linked human f o to biological and social speaker traits and life outcomes, from reproductive to economic. Critically, researchers have used myriad speech stimuli to measure f o and infer its functional relevance, from individual vowels to longer bouts of spontaneous speech. Here, we acoustically analysed f o in nearly 1000 affectively neutral speech utterances (vowels, words, counting, greetings, read paragraphs and free spontaneous speech) produced by the same 154 men and women, ag…
Contour integration with corners.
2016
Contour integration refers to the ability of the visual system to bind disjoint local elements into coherent global shapes. In cluttered images containing randomly oriented elements a contour becomes salient when its elements are coaligned with a smooth global trajectory, as described by the Gestalt law of good continuation. Abrupt changes of curvature strongly diminish contour salience. Here we show that by inserting local corner elements at points of angular discontinuity, a jagged contour becomes as salient as a straight one. We report results from detection experiments for contours with and without corner elements which indicate their psychophysical equivalence. This presents a challeng…
ABM of Civil Violence: ODD Description
2017
This chapter contains a description of the proposed agent-based model, using the well-known “Overview, Design Concepts and Details” protocol. The model was implemented in NetLogo and is based on the same two types of agents—citizens and law-enforcement—as in Epstein’s model, but “citizen” agents have one subtype (“activist”) used for implementing network influence effects. The salient aspects of the model description are centered on the submodels for the risk perception, the expression of hardship in terms of value-sensitive relative deprivation, endogenous legitimacy feedback and network influence effects, which provide extensions to Epstein’s model. The model includes two networks called …
Historical and Technical Notes on Aqueducts from Prehistoric to Medieval Times
2013
The aim of this paper is to present the evolution of aqueduct technologies through the millennia, from prehistoric to medieval times. These hydraulic works were used by several civilizations to collect water from springs and to transport it to settlements, sanctuaries and other targets. Several civilizations, in China and the Americas, developed water transport systems independently, and brought these to high levels of sophistication. For the Mediterranean civilizations, one of the salient characteristics of cultural development, since the Minoan Era (ca. 3200-1100 BC), is the architectural and hydraulic function of aqueducts used for the water supply in palaces and other settlements. The M…
Too Much or Too Little Messaging? Situational Determinants of Guilt About Mobile Messaging
2021
Abstract Mobile messaging has been associated with guilt. Guilt about too much messaging may result from self-control failures during goal conflicts. Conversely, guilt about too little messaging may result from violating the salient norm to be available. This research considers both boundary conditions of guilt about mobile communication—goal conflicts and availability norm salience—simultaneously for the first time. We conducted two preregistered experiments to investigate their interplay. Results from a vignette experiment, but not from a laboratory experiment, support the hypotheses that goal conflicts trigger guilt about using messengers and that guilt about not using messengers arises …
Strategic Leadership and Leaders in Entrepreneurial Contexts: A Nexus for Innovation and Impact Missed?
2015
Research at the nexus of strategic leadership and entrepreneurial contexts has been encouraging, but some of the more innovative and impactful questions remain underexplored. The purpose of the Special Issue was to provide a forum for works that build on the constraints, challenges, characteristics, and other salient elements of entrepreneurial settings to advance theory and testing on strategic leadership effects, as well as enrich our understanding of firm behaviour and outcomes in entrepreneurial contexts. We first provide an overview and background of the Special Issue. We then provide a summary of the process and outcomes, including a synopsis of the accepted manuscripts. The discussio…
How not to Resist the Natural Kind Talk in Biology
2019
Abstract: After the dawn of the traditional, essentialist view of natural kinds in contemporary philosophy (exacerbated in philosophy of biology by “population thinking”), non-essentialist cluster conceptions of natural kinds have been extensively supported and applied to numerous biological categories. However, salient philosophers have put forward two challenging arguments against cluster kind theories. I argue that, in both cases, discontent with a cluster conception of natural kinds is motivated by tacit and previous assumptions that can be challenged. I conclude that the concerns expressed in the objections do not make good reasons to resist natural kinds talk in biology unless one is …