Original Research Challenges facing young African scientists in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study aimed at identifying the challenges that young African scientists face in their career development. Methods ... The research profile of Africans is relatively new, and the .... outside the country because it will support my original ideas.”.

NEW CHALLENGES FACED BY EUROPEAN COMPANIES AND THEIR STAKEHOLDERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BOBE Claudia-Maria

2010-07-01

Full Text Available The European Union is currently affected by the financial crisis that spread internationally. The member states face difficulties such as price volatility, uncertainties, liquidity issues, cases of bankruptcy, increased unemployment rate, and decreasing GDP. The present paper analyses the challenges faced under these new circumstances by the European companies and their stakeholders. By taking into consideration the threats and weaknesses faced by firms and other interested parties, we emphasize the importance that transparency and communication among companies and their stakeholder have in overcoming financial difficulties.

Fiber quality challenges facing the cotton industry

Science.gov (United States)

The cotton industry is in the midst of an exciting time with increased domestic consumption, but also facing pressure from other crops and the global marketplace. In order to ensure the US cotton crop remains the fiber of choice for the world it is important to keep an eye on the challenges to fibe...

Facing the challenges of a competitive market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hollins, P.

2001-01-01

British Energy is one of the world's largest nuclear generating companies. This paper describes the business environment in which the company competes, its strategic responses to the challenges it faces, and gives some conclusions regarding the priorities for the nuclear generation industry if it is to thrive as a mainstream source of energy. (author)

Challenges facing the marketing of scientific and research institutes

OpenAIRE

Bogdan Sojkin

2015-01-01

This article presents the challenges that scientific research institutions face in terms of their marketing, which have been divided into two groups of those associated with internal marketing and those linked to external marketing. The most significant and important determinants that constitute challenges to both internal and external marketing were described. The key aspects of each of the identified challenges were indicated, as was their impact on the implementation of the marketing polic...

Challenges facing the marketing of scientific and research institutes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bogdan Sojkin

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This article presents the challenges that scientific research institutions face in terms of their marketing, which have been divided into two groups of those associated with internal marketing and those linked to external marketing. The most significant and important determinants that constitute challenges to both internal and external marketing were described. The key aspects of each of the identified challenges were indicated, as was their impact on the implementation of the marketing policy at institutions.

A qualitative exploration of the major challenges facing pharmacovigilance in Saudi Arabia.

Science.gov (United States)

Aljadhey, Hisham; Mahmoud, Mansour A; Alshammari, Thamir M; Al-Dhaeefi, Mohammed; Le Louet, Herve; Perez-Gutthann, Susana; Pitts, Peter J

2015-09-01

To explore the challenges facing pharmacovigilance in Saudi Arabia and formulate recommendations to improve it from the perspective of healthcare professionals in Saudi Arabia. This was a qualitative study of 4 focus group discussions with pharmacists, physicians, and academicians held under the auspices of the King Saud University School of Pharmacy and the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 29 eligible healthcare professionals were invited to participate in the discussion. The predefined themes of the study were the current practice and major challenges facing pharmacovigilance in regulatory bodies, hospitals, the community, and academia, as well as recommendations to improve pharmacovigilance practice.  Of the 29 participants invited, 27 attended the discussion. Challenges facing regulatory bodies included complicated adverse drug reactions (ADR) reporting forms, lack of feedback on ADRs submitted to the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, lack of decisions from the local authority to withdraw medications, and lack of data on pharmacovigilance. The challenges to pharmacovigilance in hospitals included the lack of knowledge of the significance of ADR reporting, workload, blaming culture, and lack of collaboration between regulatory bodies and hospitals. However, challenges facing pharmaceutical industries included the lack of drug manufacturers in Saudi Arabia and lack of interest in pharmacovigilance. Recommendations to improve pharmacovigilance included the need for communication, stronger regulatory requirements, the need for research, the need for unified ADRs reporting, and continuous education and training.  The study has identified the challenges facing pharmacovigilance in Saudi Arabia and made certain recommendations to overcome them. These recommendations might be helpful for regulatory bodies to enhance spontaneous reporting and promote pharmacovigilance.

The challenges facing commercial motorcycle occupation in Etsako ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study examined the challenges facing commercial motorcycle occupation in Edo State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey design was adopted. Data were collected through questionnaires and in-depth interviews (IDIs) among selected motorcyclists, police officers and road safety officials in Etsako West Local Government ...

What are gender-based challenges facing Free Primary Education ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Rural teachers' views: What are gender-based challenges facing. Free Primary Education in Lesotho .... resulted in high levels of poverty amongst women, particularly in rural areas. Women ...... Lesotho demographics profile 2010. Available at ...

The Challenges Facing Catholic Education in France Today

Science.gov (United States)

Moog, François

2016-01-01

The effects of secularisation on society demand a rethinking of the identity and mission of Catholic schools in France. In 2013, the French bishops published a new directory which offers new approaches, described here, based on the three challenges facing Catholic education in France: linking social responsibility and evangelisation, setting up…

A Variety of Diversity: Facing Higher Education's Educational Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Dey, Eric L.

2008-10-01

First among the many important challenges facing American higher education is the need to improve the effectiveness of our educational programs. Public concern has heightened the sense of urgency for colleges and universities to make progress on improving and measuring educational outcomes, which is made more challenging by the varieties of diversity facing us. Diversity is not just an issue related to student recruitment or experience, but rather it is one that also relates to institutions and their faculties. New educational methods must address such diversity to be effective, and one possible example can be found in ongoing research at the University of Michigan that explores the educational implications of implementing a web-based lecture capture system in large lecture courses. Student use of and reactions to such systems is important, as is the potential to influence course performance for students in general, but also for underrepresented and at-risk student subpopulations. In addition to helping bring our current landscape into focus, this paper will identify effective practices as well as continuing challenges to improving educational practice for undergraduate students.

Challenges facing primary school educators of English Second (or ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ESOL) learners identified by educators as having language disorders and being referred for Speech-Language Therapy. We describe challenges faced by Grade 1, 2 and 3 educators at government schools in the Cape Metropolitan area who ...

Challenges facing water management in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varis, O.; Vakkilainen, P.

2000-01-01

The amount of water per person in northern China is less than half of that in Egypt, a country with very scarce water resources. Clearly, then, China is one of the regions on our planet that is going to have to face severe problems of water supply in the future. Rapid urbanisation and industrialisation growing agricultural output, environmental degradation, climatic instability, a large population density and worsening regional disparities are all factors that will challenge the management and utilisation of China's water resources in the years to come. (orig.)

Challenges and Opportunities Facing Technology Education in Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Lung-Sheng Steven

2009-01-01

The technology education in Taiwan is prescribed in the national curriculum and provided to all students in grades 1-12. However, it faces the following challenges: (1) Lack of worthy image, (2) Inadequate teachers in elementary schools, (3) Deficient teaching vitality in secondary schools, and (4) Diluted technology teacher education programs. In…

Challenges Faced by Undergraduate Military Students at American Public University System

Science.gov (United States)

Machuca, Ana; Torres, Karin; Morris, Pamela; Whitley, William

2014-01-01

This paper will summarize some of challenges faced by military students enrolled in an associate and bachelors online program at American Public University System (APUS). The survey results on which the study is based exposed the following problems faced by military personnel: 48.7% had difficulties working around military obligations, 33.3%…

Challenges Facing Supervisors and Students in the Process of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paper established that communication, supervisorstudent relationship, access to literature, plagiarism, and poor writing skills among some students are some of the key challenges facing students and supervisors in writing dissertations/theses at OUT. The paper recommends that communication between students and ...

Rural teachers' views: What are gender-based challenges facing ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper gives prominence to rural teachers' accounts of gender-based challenges facing Free Primary Education in Lesotho. It draws on feminist interpretations of social constructionism to discuss factors within the Basotho communities that affect gender equality in the schools. The inductive analysis offered makes use ...

The Face Management Challenges of Sport Celebrity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana-Luiza DUMITRIU

2015-03-01

Full Text Available While gaining centrality within the sport field, media accelerated its commodification process and facilitated sport actors becoming competitive on the celebrity market. The aim of this paper is to discuss the reconfiguration that the celebrity logic brought in terms of the mere condition of the sport actor and the face management challenges and remedial strategies that he has to cope with. I will thus focus on two main dimensions that I find to be constitutive for the celebrity status: one related to the augmented media exposure that sport stars are subject to and to the corollary symbolic reconfiguration of the boundaries between his public and his private life, and the second one related to the vulnerability that comes along with the new visibility of the complex repertoire of identities and social roles performed by the sport actors. Within this last dimension of the sport-related celebrity cycle of promotion, I will lay stress not only on the face threatening aspects for the sport stars, but also on the vulnerability transfer within the affinal branding network and the challenges it could bring for the brands that chose to associate their image with a sport celebrity. Thus, I argue that the kaleidoscopic public figures of sport celebrities requires high impression management involvement on their part, as well as more caution on the marketeers part.

Myth 15: High-Ability Students Don't Face Problems and Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Moon, Sidney M.

2009-01-01

One rationale for failure to address the needs of high-ability students in schools is that high-ability students do not need special services because they do not face any special problems or challenges. A more extreme corollary of this attitude is the notion that high ability is so protective that students with high ability do not face problems or…

Challenges facing young African scientists in their research careers ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Africa accounts for 14% of world's population, and the economies of most African countries are considered to be growing, but this is not reflected in the amount of research published by Africans. This study aimed at identifying the challenges that young African scientists face in their career development.

Recommendations on Arresting Global Health Challenges Facing Adolescents and Young Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Lassi, Zohra S; Salam, Rehana A; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A

The health challenges faced by young people are more complex than adults and can compromise their full growth and development. Attention must be paid to the health of this age group, yet adolescents and youth remain largely invisible and often disappear from the major global datasets. The aim of this paper is to discuss the global health challenges faced by adolescents and youth, global legislations and guidelines pertaining to this particular age group, recommendations to arrest these challenges, and research priorities. Major direct and indirect global health risks faced by adolescents include early pregnancy and childbirth, femicide, honor killing, female genital mutilation, nutritional habits and choices, social media, and peer pressure. There are no standard legal age cut-offs for adulthood; rather, the age varies for different activities, such as age of consent or the minimum age that young people can legally work, leave school, drive, buy alcohol, marry, be held accountable for criminal action, and make medical decisions. This reflects the fact that the existing systems and structures are focused on either children or adults, with very few investments and interventions directed specifically to young people. Existing legislation and guidelines need transformation to bring about a specific focus on adolescents in the domains of substance use and sexual behaviors, and the capacity for adolescent learning should be exploited through graduated legal and policy frameworks. Sustainable development goals provide an opportunity to target this neglected and vulnerable age group. A multisectoral approach is needed to bring about healthy change and address the challenges faced by adolescents and youth, from modifications at a broader legislative and policy level to ground-level (community-level) implementations. Copyright © 2017 Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Challenges Facing Healthwatch, a New Consumer Champion in England.

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, Pam; Martin, Graham

2016-01-21

This article engages with debates about the conceptualisation and practical challenges of patient and public involvement (PPI) in health and social care services. Policy in this area in England has shifted numerous times but increasingly a consumerist discourse seems to override more democratic ideas concerning the relationship between citizens and public services. Recent policy change in England has seen the creation of new consumer champion bodies in the form of local Healthwatch. The article describes these new organisational structures for PPI and shows how those who seek to influence planning and delivery of services or comment or complain about aspects of their care face considerable complexity. This is due, in part, to the ambiguous remit set out for newly instigated Healthwatch organisations by government. Drawing on governance theory, we show that it can also be understood as a function of an increasingly polycentric governance arena. Challenges that flow from this include problems of specifying jurisdictional responsibility, accountability, and legitimacy. We review Healthwatch progress to date, then we set out four challenges facing local Healthwatch organisations before discussing the implications of these for patients and the public. The first challenge relates to non-coterminous boundaries and jurisdictional integrity. Secondly, establishing the unique features of Healthwatch is problematic in the crowded PPI arena. The third challenge arises from limited resources as well as the fact that resources flow to Healthwatch from the local authorities that Healthwatch are expected to hold to account. The fourth challenge we identify is how local Healthwatch organisations negotiate the complexity of being a partner to statutory and other organisations, while at the same time being expected to champion local people's views. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Challenges faced by former child soldiers in the aftermath of war in Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Vindevogel, Sofie; De Schryver, Maarten; Broekaert, Eric; Derluyn, Ilse

2013-06-01

Warfare takes a profound toll of all layers of society, creating multiple and multilevel challenges that impinge on the psychosocial well-being of affected individuals. This study aims to assess the scope and salience of challenges confronting former child soldiers and at identifying additional challenges they face compared to non-recruited young people in war-affected northern Uganda. The study was carried out with a stratified random sample of northern Ugandan adolescents (n = 1,008), of whom a third had formerly been recruited (n = 330). The mixed-method comparison design consisted of a constrained free listing task to determine the challenges; a free sorting task to categorize them into clusters; and statistical analysis of their prevalence among formerly recruited youth and of how they compare with those of nonrecruited youth. Altogether, 237 challenges were identified and clustered into 15 categories, showing that formerly recruited participants mainly identified "emotional" and "training and skills"-related challenges. Compared with nonrecruited counterparts, they reported significantly more "emotional" and fewer "social and relational" challenges, with the exception of stigmatization. Overall, there was similarity between the challenges reported by both groups. The challenges confronting formerly recruited youths reach well beyond the effects of direct war exposure and emerge mainly from multiple influence spheres surrounding them. These challenges are largely shared in common with nonrecruited youths. This multidimensional and collective character of challenges calls for comprehensive psychosocial interventions through which healing the psychological wounds of war is complemented by mending the war-affected surroundings at all levels and in all life areas. Copyright © 2013 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Challenges Faced by New Science Teachers in Saudi Arabia

Science.gov (United States)

Alsharari, Salman

Growing demand for science teachers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, fed by increasing numbers of public school students, is forcing the Saudi government to attract, recruit and retain well-qualified science teachers. Beginning science teachers enter the educational profession with a massive fullfilment and satisfaction in their roles and positions as teachers to educating children in a science classroom. Nevertheless, teachers, over their early years of practice, encounter numerous challenges to provide the most effective science instruction. Therefore, the current study was aimed to identify academic and behavioral classroom challenges faced by science teachers in their first three years of teaching in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In addition, new science teacher gender, school level and years of teaching experience differences in perceptions of the challenges that they encountered at work were analyzed. The present study also investigated various types of support that new science teachers may need to overcome academic and behavioral classroom challenges. In order to gain insights about ways to adequately support novice science teachers, it was important to examine new science teachers' beliefs, ideas and perceptions about effective science teaching. Three survey questionnaires were developed and distributed to teachers of both sexes who have been teaching science subjects, for less than three years, to elementary, middle and high school students in Al Jouf public schools. A total of 49 novice science teachers responded to the survey and 9 of them agreed to participate voluntarily in a face-to-face interview. Different statistical procedures and multiple qualitative methodologies were used to analyze the collected data. Findings suggested that the top three academic challenges faced by new science teachers were: poor quality of teacher preparation programs, absence of appropriate school equipment and facilities and lack of classroom materials and instructional

Implicit Race Bias Decreases the Similarity of Neural Representations of Black and White Faces

Science.gov (United States)

Brosch, Tobias; Bar-David, Eyal; Phelps, Elizabeth A.

2013-01-01

Implicit race bias has been shown to affect decisions and behaviors. It may also change perceptual experience by increasing perceived differences between social groups. We investigated how this phenomenon may be expressed at the neural level by testing whether the distributed blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) patterns representing Black and White faces are more dissimilar in participants with higher implicit race bias. We used multivoxel pattern analysis to predict the race of faces participants were viewing. We successfully predicted the race of the faces on the basis of BOLD activation patterns in early occipital visual cortex, occipital face area, and fusiform face area (FFA). Whereas BOLD activation patterns in early visual regions, likely reflecting different perceptual features, allowed successful prediction for all participants, successful prediction on the basis of BOLD activation patterns in FFA, a high-level face-processing region, was restricted to participants with high pro-White bias. These findings suggest that stronger implicit pro-White bias decreases the similarity of neural representations of Black and White faces. PMID:23300228

Towards Modelling Variation in Music as Foundation for Similarity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Volk, A.; de Haas, W.B.; van Kranenburg, P.; Cambouropoulos, E.; Tsougras, C.; Mavromatis, P.; Pastiadis, K.

2012-01-01

This paper investigates the concept of variation in music from the perspective of music similarity. Music similarity is a central concept in Music Information Retrieval (MIR), however there exists no comprehensive approach to music similarity yet. As a consequence, MIR faces the challenge on how to

Medical physics and challenges faced in Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakatudde, R.

2010-01-01

Individual medical physicists have presented many challenges which have greatly inhibited their input in patient care and management. To improve the role and recognition of medical physicists in Africa, FAMPO was established. This is the Federation of African Medical Physics Organisations. Its main role is to bridge the gap between individual medical physicists, existing medical physicist bodies and the International Organisation of Medical Physics (IOMP). It is a non profit making organisation. A qualified medical physicist is an individual who is competent to practice independently one or more of the sub fields of medical physics. i.e. therapeutic radiological, diagnostic radiological, medical nuclear and medical health. Their time should on average be distributed equally among three areas, clinical service and consultation, research and development, and teaching. All diagnostic and radiotherapy centres should have a well established comprehensive quality assurance programme in place, which should involve machine installation and calibration, source delivery and safety, operational procedures, clinical dosimetry and the whole treatment planning process. This should be followed according to national and international recommendations. A study was carried out to identify the challenges faced by medical physicists in Africa and the objectives of the study were; To identify the number of qualified medical physicists and their working experience in hospitals in African countries. To identify the level of involvement of medical physicists in the three areas of Nuclear medicine, Radiology and Radiotherapy in hospitals in African countries.To identify countries with recognised professional bodies governing medical physicists in African countries.To identify the challenges faced by medical physicists in African countries Methods and materials The study was conducted on thirteen medical physicists from seven African countries. i.e. Nigeria, Kenya, Libya, Tanzania, Zambia

Strategies being followed in India to face challenge of drug ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. Strategies being followed in India to face challenge of drug resistance in tuberculosis. Increasing the coverage with DOTS. Operational research to monitor the trends in drug resistance. Research in methods for rapid detection of drug resistance. Improving methods/ ...

Higher education in the face of social challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adrián Cuevas Jiménez

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Higher education refers to the subsequent training to high school education; that is undergraduate and graduate; whose mission is to preserve; develop and disseminate culture. Throughout the history of higher education it has undergone a process of transformation; mainly due to the development of knowledge and the transformation of society. In the process they highlighted two great moments; in the first; which culminated in the mid-twentieth century; it conceived the higher education institution encompassing all knowledge of society; and who graduated was ready to perform professionally throughout life; the second time; after those dates; it is conceivable that knowledge is no longer exclusive to the institution of higher education; and there can be no efficient performance without continuous training and continuous updating of knowledge. The objective of this work is to point out the general goals and some strategies of the students’ formation of superior education; to confront the big challenges that it faces today the society. To define this goals and strategies four challenge levels are considered: a physical; structural and politicalideological challenges; b challenges around the scientifictechnician and of the knowledge advances; c challenges of the internal structure of the formative process and the access to the superior education; and d challenges in the formation of values in the students. 

Challenges faced by young persons living with HIV: The case of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Challenges faced by young persons living with HIV: The case of children on the ... Journal of Social Development in Africa ... to 34 randomly selected children who were beneficiaries of an initiative called the Community Outreach Programme.

A Content Analysis Concerning the Studies on Challenges Faced by Novice Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Kozikoglu, Ishak

2017-01-01

The purpose of this research is to analyze the studies concerning challenges faced by novice teachers in terms of various aspects and compare challenges according to location of the studies conducted in Turkey and abroad. A total of 30 research studies were included in detailed analysis. This is a descriptive study based on qualitative research…

Becoming a nurse faculty leader: facing challenges through reflecting, persevering and relating in new ways.

Science.gov (United States)

Horton-Deutsch, Sara; Young, Patricia K; Nelson, Kristine A

2010-05-01

The aim of the present study was to explore the experience of becoming a nurse faculty leader. In a recent interpretation of 23 interviews conducted with nurse faculty leaders from across the United States about their experiences of becoming a leader three themes were identified: being thrust into leadership, taking risks and facing challenges. This interpretive phenomenological study further explicates three aspects of how nurse educators faced challenges in becoming and serving as a leader. Facing challenges meant reflecting, persevering through difficulties and learning to relate to others in new ways. Exemplars of participant experiences are provided for concreteness, to assist readers in determining how findings resonate with their own experience and how they can actualize this resonance in their own leadership practice. In the present study, reflecting, persevering through difficulties and learning to relate with others in a new way was how leaders faced challenges. Leadership development opportunities that facilitate self-exploration, caring and thoughtful interactions with others and values clarification serve as the foundation for becoming a nurse faculty leader who is, in turn, able to build leadership capacity in other individuals and organizations.

New Challenges Facing Universities in the Internet-Driven Global Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Rajasingham, Lalita

2011-01-01

This paper explores some new challenges facing universities in a global multimediated Internet-based environment, as they seek alternative paradigms and options to remain true to their core business. At a time of rapid technological change, and contested, complex concepts associated with globalisation, knowledge is becoming a primary factor of…

Examining the Challenging Hindrances facing in the Construction Projects: South India’s Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Subramanyam, K.; Haridharan, M. K.

2017-07-01

Developing countries like India require a huge infrastructure to facilitate needs of the people. Construction industry provides several opportunities to the individuals. Construction manager work is to supervise and organize the construction activities in construction projects. Now a day construction manager facing challenges. This paper aimed to study the challenges facing by the construction manager in the perception of construction professionals. 39 variables were taken from the literature review which found to be severe impact on construction managers’ performance. Construction manager, project manager and site engineers are the respondents for this survey. Using SPSS, regression analysis was done and recognized significant challenges. These challenges were classified into 5 domains. In management challenges, resource availability and allocation, risks and uncertainties existing in the project onsite, top management support and cost constraints are the most significant variables. In skills requirement of a construction manager challenges, technical skills required to learn and adapt new technology in the project, decision making and planning according to the situation in site are the most significant variables. In performance challenges, implementation of tasks according to the plan is the important variable whereas in onsite challenges, manage project risks, develop project policies and procedures are the most important.

Educational challenges faced by international medical graduates in the UK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hashim A

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Ahmed Hashim Gastroenterology Department, Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust, Brighton, UK Introduction: International medical graduates (IMGs in the UK constitute approximately one-quarter of the total number of doctors registered in the General Medical Council (GMC. The transition of IMGs into the health care system in the UK is accompanied by significant sociocultural and educational challenges. This study aims to explore the views of IMGs in medical training on the educational challenges they face.Methods: This study was conducted in the Kent, Surrey and Sussex region in 2015. All IMGs who work in medical (physicianly training programs were included. Data were collected through a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Thematic approach was used to analyze the qualitative data.Results: Of the total 61 IMGs included, 17 responded to the survey and 3 were interviewed. The common educational barriers faced by IMGs were related to lack of appreciation of the values and structure of the National Health Service (NHS, ethical and medicolegal issues, receiving feedback from colleagues and the different learning strategies in the UK. IMGs suggested introduction of a mandatory dedicated induction program in the form of formal teaching sessions. They also believed that a supervised shadowing period prior in the first job in the UK would be beneficial. Further assessment areas should be incorporated into the prequalifying examinations to address specific educational needs such as NHS structure and hospital policies. Other measures such as buddying schemes with senior IMGs and educating NHS staff on different needs of IMGs should also be considered.Conclusion: This study highlighted important educational challenges faced by IMGs and generated relevant solutions. However, the opinions of the supervisors and other health care professionals need to be explored. Keywords: international medical graduates, IMG, educational barriers

Exploring strategies to overcome extra-organisational challenges faced by community pharmacies in Sarawak, Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kho, Boon Phiaw; Hassali, Mohamed Azmi; Lim, Ching Jou; Saleem, Fahad

2018-03-15

The aims of this research were to determine extra-organisational challenges (e.g. market competition, governing policies) faced by community pharmacies in Sarawak, the coping strategies employed to deal with these challenges and explore potential legislative changes that can attenuate the intensity of these challenges. Survey questionnaires (n = 184) were posted to all eligible community pharmacies in Sarawak, Malaysia. The questionnaire included sections on participants' demographic data, extra-organisational challenges faced, coping strategies employed and proposals to improve community pharmacy legislations. Items were constructed based on the findings of a prior qualitative research supplemented with relevant literature about these issues. High levels of homogeneity in responses were recorded on various extra-organisational challenges faced, particularly those economy-oriented. Strategic changes to counter these challenges were focused on pricing and product stocked, rather than services provision. Highly rated strategies included increasing discounts for customers (n = 54; 68%) and finding cheaper suppliers (n = 70; 88%). Legislative changes proposed that might increase their share of the pharmaceutical market were strongly supported by respondents, particularly about making it compulsory for general practitioners to provide patients the option to have their medicines dispensed in community pharmacies (n = 72; 90%). Current legislative conditions and Malaysian consumer mindset may have constrained the strategic choices of community pharmacies to deal with the strong extra-organisational challenges. A long-term multipronged approach to address these issues and increased involvement of community pharmacists themselves in this agenda are required to influence practice change. © 2018 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

Pose-Invariant Face Recognition via RGB-D Images.

Science.gov (United States)

Sang, Gaoli; Li, Jing; Zhao, Qijun

2016-01-01

Three-dimensional (3D) face models can intrinsically handle large pose face recognition problem. In this paper, we propose a novel pose-invariant face recognition method via RGB-D images. By employing depth, our method is able to handle self-occlusion and deformation, both of which are challenging problems in two-dimensional (2D) face recognition. Texture images in the gallery can be rendered to the same view as the probe via depth. Meanwhile, depth is also used for similarity measure via frontalization and symmetric filling. Finally, both texture and depth contribute to the final identity estimation. Experiments on Bosphorus, CurtinFaces, Eurecom, and Kiwi databases demonstrate that the additional depth information has improved the performance of face recognition with large pose variations and under even more challenging conditions.

Identity Issues and Challenges Faced by Russian Immigrants in New Zealand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Maydell

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Among the processes cosmopolitan societies undergo at the present moment, is the unprecedented increase in mass migration across cultures. What challenges are faced by both immigrants, who have to settle in novel socio-cultural environments, and by the host populations accepting them? The current qualitative study investigates the nature of identity construction among Russian-speaking immigrants in New Zealand, applying thematic analysis for the interpretation of the data collected via 23 in-depth interviews. Among the most common themes articulated by the participants was the feeling of identity loss. A taken-for-granted sense of identity, brought by the participants from their culture of origin, was not validated by their new society of residence, mostly due to the lack of appropriate cultural resources. The participants were faced with a challenge of re-constructing their old identity, or constructing a new one, utilising the available resources in the community around them. At the same time, there was a sub-group for whom this challenge brought the realisation that the nature of their identity is cosmopolitan, rather than located within any particular culture or geographical space.

Challenges faced by parents of children with learning disabilities in Opuwo, Namibia.

Science.gov (United States)

Taderera, Clever; Hall, Herna

2017-01-01

Parenting children with learning disabilities requires a high level of knowledge and access to resources, information and services. In developing countries, however, these resources and services are not always available. Parents in Namibia, a developing country, therefore face challenges addressing children's learning and other developmental disabilities, including challenges related to preventative and supportive interventions. This research focuses on challenges faced by parents as they parent children with learning disabilities in Opuwo, Namibia. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight parents regarding the challenges they face in parenting their children with learning disabilities. Thematic analysis enabled the researchers to identify, analyse and report on themes that emerged from the qualitative interview data. Analysis of the interviews indicated that some participants had only a vague understanding of learning disabilities, as they did not have access to essential knowledge about this phenomenon. They also lacked an awareness of the availability of programmes, services and policies meant to benefit their children with learning disabilities. Participants voiced that they, their children with learning disabilities and community members have stereotypes and prejudices regarding learning disabilities. In this study, most of the children with learning disabilities were raised by single, unemployed parents who seemed to have access to less support from external sources than married couples parenting children with learning disabilities. These single parents are usually not married and because of lack of financial support from the other parent, the majority of them indicated that they struggle to meet the financial and material needs of their children. The researchers concluded that the participants in this study experience a range of challenges in parenting their children with learning disabilities. The main challenges emanate from financial instability, as

The Challenges Facing Small-Scale Women Entrepreneurs: A Case of Kenya

OpenAIRE

Fridah Muriungi Mwobobia

2012-01-01

The study sought to identify the challenges facing small scale women entrepreneurs in Kenya and initiatives put in place to counter the challenges. The study employed desktop research. MSEs Baseline survey, recorded that 612,848 women in Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in Kenya, accounting for 47.4 per cent of all those in MSEs. The study showed that women tended to operate enterprises associated with traditional women¡¯s roles, such as hairstyling. The small and micro enterprises (SMEs) p...

Finding a Trans-Affirmative Provider: Challenges Faced by Trans and Gender Diverse Psychologists and Psychology Trainees.

Science.gov (United States)

Dickey, Lore M; Singh, Anneliese A

2017-08-01

This article explores some of the challenges faced by trans and gender diverse (TGD) individuals who not only are attempting to access trans-affirmative care, but who are also members of the very profession from which they are seeking services. The authors explore challenges related to finding supervision, accessing care for assessment services, and finding a provider for personal counseling. With each example, the authors unpack the challenges and also address the implications for training for all involved. Based on these challenges that TGD psychologists and trainees face in attempting to access care, the authors provide recommendations related to trans-affirmative training for psychologists. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

E-learning challenges faced by academics in higher education

OpenAIRE

Islam, Nurul; Beer, Martin; Slack, Frances

2015-01-01

E-learning has become a necessity in higher education institutions and is being deployed in educational establishments throughout the world. Researchers have made much emphasis on its benefits but not much is discussed on the disadvantages of e-learning technology. This paper references some of the research work on the limitations of e-learning technology, categorises it in five challenges that teachers are faced with and suggestions for a successful e-learning outcome. This paper also discus...

Oxytocin and social pretreatment have similar effects on processing of negative emotional faces in healthy adult males

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna eKis

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Oxytocin has been shown to affect several aspects of human social cognition, including facial emotion processing. There is also evidence that social stimuli (such as eye-contact can effectively modulate endogenous oxytocin levels.In the present study we directly tested whether intranasal oxytocin administration and pre-treatment with social stimuli had similar effects on face processing at the behavioural level. Subjects (N=52 healthy adult males were presented with a set of faces with expressions of different valence (negative, neutral, positive following different types of pretreatment (oxytocin – OT or placebo – PL and social interaction – Soc or no social interaction – NSoc, N=13 in each and were asked to rate all faces for perceived emotion and trustworthiness. On the next day subjects’ recognition memory was tested on a set of neutral faces and additionally they had to again rate each face for trustworthiness and emotion.Subjects in both the OT and the Soc pretreatment group (as compared to the PL and to the NSoc groups gave higher emotion and trustworthiness scores for faces with negative emotional expression. Moreover, 24 h later, subjects in the OT and Soc groups (unlike in control groups gave lower trustworthiness scores for previously negative faces, than for faces previously seen as emotionally neutral or positive.In sum these results provide the first direct evidence of the similar effects of intranasal oxytocin administration and social stimulation on the perception of negative facial emotions as well as on the delayed recall of negative emotional information.

Ethical challenges facing veterinary professionals in Ireland: results from Policy Delphi with vignette methodology

Science.gov (United States)

Magalhães-Sant'Ana, M.; More, S. J.; Morton, D. B.; Hanlon, A.

2016-01-01

Ethics is key to the integrity of the veterinary profession. Despite its importance, there is a lack of applied research on the range of ethical challenges faced by veterinarians. A three round Policy Delphi with vignette methodology was used to record the diversity of views on ethical challenges faced by veterinary professionals in Ireland. Forty experts, comprising veterinary practitioners, inspectors and nurses, accepted to participate. In round 1, twenty vignettes describing a variety of ethically challenging veterinary scenarios were ranked in terms of ethical acceptability, reputational risk and perceived standards of practice. Round 2 aimed at characterising challenges where future policy development or professional guidance was deemed to be needed. In round 3, possible solutions to key challenges were explored. Results suggest that current rules and regulations are insufficient to ensure best veterinary practices and that a collective approach is needed to harness workable solutions for the identified ethical challenges. Challenges pertaining mostly to the food chain seem to require enforcement measures whereas softer measures that promote professional discretion were preferred to address challenges dealing with veterinary clinical services. These findings can support veterinary representative bodies, advisory committees and regulatory authorities in their decision making, policy and regulation. PMID:27613779

Challenges faced by international nurses when migrating: an integrative literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Pung, L-X; Goh, Y-S

2017-03-01

Results from this literature review were used to identify the challenges faced by international nurses in their host countries following migration. The increasing strain of nursing shortages in the healthcare system has led to the recruitment of international nurses among many countries. However, following migration, international nurses are faced with challenges that may result in poor integration with their host countries. Using Cooper's five stages for integrative research reviews, a literature search was conducted across seven databases using a PRISMA search strategy. Additional manual searches were also conducted on the end-references of the retrieved articles. The authors then independently reviewed the selected articles using the Joanna Briggs Institute appraisal form to extract and generate the themes for the review. Twenty-four articles were selected for the review. The themes generated included: (i) difficulty orientating; (ii) a longing for what is missing; (iii) professional development and devaluing; (iv) communication barriers; (v) discrimination and marginalization; (vi) personal and professional differences; and (vii) a meaningful support system. By identifying the challenges faced by international nurses, interventions that ensure equal treatment (e.g. multifaceted transition programmes and culturally sensitive 'buddy' systems) can be implemented to help international nurses adapt to their new environments. Adequate communication can be achieved by encouraging international nurses to speak English and learn the colloquial language and non-verbal behaviours used by native nurses. With good integration international nurses may be able to reach their full career potential as professional nurses in their host countries. The adaptation process is a dynamic process that requires effort from both international and native nurses. Thus, any strategies that are developed and implemented must be multifaceted. © 2016 International Council of Nurses.

3D Facial Similarity Measure Based on Geodesic Network and Curvatures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junli Zhao

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Automated 3D facial similarity measure is a challenging and valuable research topic in anthropology and computer graphics. It is widely used in various fields, such as criminal investigation, kinship confirmation, and face recognition. This paper proposes a 3D facial similarity measure method based on a combination of geodesic and curvature features. Firstly, a geodesic network is generated for each face with geodesics and iso-geodesics determined and these network points are adopted as the correspondence across face models. Then, four metrics associated with curvatures, that is, the mean curvature, Gaussian curvature, shape index, and curvedness, are computed for each network point by using a weighted average of its neighborhood points. Finally, correlation coefficients according to these metrics are computed, respectively, as the similarity measures between two 3D face models. Experiments of different persons’ 3D facial models and different 3D facial models of the same person are implemented and compared with a subjective face similarity study. The results show that the geodesic network plays an important role in 3D facial similarity measure. The similarity measure defined by shape index is consistent with human’s subjective evaluation basically, and it can measure the 3D face similarity more objectively than the other indices.

The challenges that parents of children with epilepsy face

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kampra, Matina; Tzerakis, Nikolas; Thomsen, Louise Lund Holm

2017-01-01

, parents/caregivers found that they needed more education about the existing sources of psychosocial and emotional support to cope with their child's epilepsy personally and as a family. Finally, the parents/caregivers who let their child know about the epilepsy and discussed the implications......Objective This qualitative study explored the challenges that Greek parents/caregivers of children with controlled epilepsy (CwE) face regarding the disorder. Methods Interviews were conducted based on open-ended questions guided by a review of the literature. A total of 91 parents/caregivers were...... recruited by neurologists at the neurology clinics of two Athens public hospitals. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used to explore parent/caregiver experiences. The data were grouped and analyzed through a textual interpretation. Results Two key challenges were identified for parents of Cw...

Challenges facing procurement professionals in developing economies: Unlocking value through professional international purchasing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marian Tukuta

2015-04-01

Objectives: The purpose of this article was to examine the critical role played by the procurement function in business and to reveal the challenges faced by procurement professionals in developing economies as well as to suggest solutions to these challenges. Method: A sequential literary analysis was used, complemented by cross-country qualitative data gathered from one hundred diverse procurement practitioners from Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. These were primarily participants in a series of procurement workshops run by the researchers from January to June 2014. Results: Findings suggested that limited recognition, increasing unethical behaviour, poor supplier service delivery, poor regulatory environment, varying supplier standards and poor corporate governance are the main challenges faced by the procurement profession in these countries. Conclusion: The study’s findings imply that there is limited understanding regarding the role procurement plays in both government and non-government institutions in developing economies. The article suggests solutions which procurement professionals and organisations can implement in order to unlock the potential value in the procurement function.

Endocrinology Telehealth Consultation Improved Glycemic Control Similar to Face-to-Face Visits in Veterans.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Winnie; Saxon, David R; McNair, Bryan; Sanagorski, Rebecca; Rasouli, Neda

2016-09-01

Rates of diabetes for veterans who receive health care through the Veterans Health Administration are higher than rates in the general population. Furthermore, many veterans live in rural locations, far from Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals, thus limiting their ability to readily seek face-to-face endocrinology care for diabetes. Telehealth (TH) technologies present an opportunity to improve access to specialty diabetes care for such patients; however, there is a lack of evidence regarding the ability of TH to improve glycemic control in comparison to traditional face-to-face consultations. This was a retrospective cohort study of all new endocrinology diabetes consultations at the Denver VA Medical Center over a 1-year period. A total of 189 patients were included in the analysis. In all, 85 patients had received face-to-face (FTF) endocrinology consultation for diabetes and 104 patients had received TH consultation. Subjects were mostly males (94.7%) and the mean age was 62.8 ± 10.1 years old. HbA1c improved from 9.76% (9.40% to 10.11%) to 8.55% (8.20% to 8.91%) (P Endocrinology TH consultations improved short-term glycemic control as effectively as traditional FTF visits in a veteran population with diabetes. © 2016 Diabetes Technology Society.

Challenges new entrant countries face in establishing a nuclear program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brister, J.

2012-01-01

Challenges new entrant countries face in establishing a nuclear programme are distilled into four major categories: human resource development, financing, infrastructure and process. In implementing a successful nuclear programme role of the government is key to success. It requires clear and sustained policy support, international and bilateral agreements, developing the depth required of technical skills and infrastructure, proven delivery programme, management of radioactive waste and spent fuel, decommissioning and electricity market regulation.

Four Challenges That Global Health Networks Face

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeremy Shiffman

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Global health networks, webs of individuals and organizations with a shared concern for a particular condition, have proliferated over the past quarter century. They differ in their effectiveness, a factor that may help explain why resource allocations vary across health conditions and do not correspond closely with disease burden. Drawing on findings from recently concluded studies of eight global health networks—addressing alcohol harm, early childhood development (ECD, maternal mortality, neonatal mortality, pneumonia, surgically-treatable conditions, tobacco use, and tuberculosis—I identify four challenges that networks face in generating attention and resources for the conditions that concern them. The first is problem definition: generating consensus on what the problem is and how it should be addressed. The second is positioning: portraying the issue in ways that inspire external audiences to act. The third is coalition-building: forging alliances with these external actors, particularly ones outside the health sector. The fourth is governance: establishing institutions to facilitate collective action. Research indicates that global health networks that effectively tackle these challenges are more likely to garner support to address the conditions that concern them. In addition to the effectiveness of networks, I also consider their legitimacy, identifying reasons both to affirm and to question their right to exert power.

Developing Strategies for Islamic Banks to Face the Future Challenges of Financial Globalization

OpenAIRE

Al Ajlouni, Ahmed

2004-01-01

Developing Strategies for Islamic Banks to Face the Future Challenges of Financial Globalization Ahmed Al-Ajlouni Abstract This study aims at forming strategic response to assess the ability of Islamic banks in benefiting from the opportunities that may be provided by financial globalization and limits its threats, through assessing the capability of Islamic banks to meet the requirements and challenges of financial globalization, then suggests the suitable strategies that may be ...

Challenges Facing Women Academic Leadership in Secondary Schools of Irbid Educational Area

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Jaradat, Mahmoud Khaled Mohammad

2014-01-01

This study aimed at identifying the challenges facing women academic leadership in secondary schools of Irbid Educational Area. A random sample of 187 female leaders were chosen. They responded to a 49-item questionnaire prepared by the researcher. The items were distributed into four domains: organizational, personal, social and physical…

The Challenges Faced by Informal Traders in Greater Letaba Municipality in Limpopo Province, South Africa

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Kole Legodi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Informal trade has grown at an alarming rate in South Africa because of lack of employment opportunities in both the private and public sectors. This has resulted in many unemployed members of the population joining the informal business sector. The majority of people in this sector do not have skills that are needed in the formal employment sector, others are semi-literate and a small percentage has some level of qualification. Nevertheless, this sector is plagued by a number of challenges which this article presents.  The article reports on the study that was conducted at Greater Letaba Municipality in Limpopo Province. The aim of the study was to investigate the challenges that were faced by informal traders in Greater Letaba Municipality in Limpopo Province in South Africa. The area was chosen because of its accessibility to the researchers and its potential to provide relevant and accurate information for the research project. Thus, a qualitative research method was used to collect data through face to face interviews. The research discovered that some of the challenges experienced by the informal traders in the area ranged from lack of support from the local municipality to structural challenges like lack of ablution facilities and limited access to electricity. Furthermore, other challenges concerned safety and health issues that were also gender based. Most of the traders in the area were women; an element which attest to the fact that it is difficult to find employment in the country when one is less educated and is also a woman.

Sponge systematics facing new challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Cárdenas, P; Pérez, T; Boury-Esnault, N

2012-01-01

Systematics is nowadays facing new challenges with the introduction of new concepts and new techniques. Compared to most other phyla, phylogenetic relationships among sponges are still largely unresolved. In the past 10 years, the classical taxonomy has been completely overturned and a review of the state of the art appears necessary. The field of taxonomy remains a prominent discipline of sponge research and studies related to sponge systematics were in greater number in the Eighth World Sponge Conference (Girona, Spain, September 2010) than in any previous world sponge conferences. To understand the state of this rapidly growing field, this chapter proposes to review studies, mainly from the past decade, in sponge taxonomy, nomenclature and phylogeny. In a first part, we analyse the reasons of the current success of this field. In a second part, we establish the current sponge systematics theoretical framework, with the use of (1) cladistics, (2) different codes of nomenclature (PhyloCode vs. Linnaean system) and (3) integrative taxonomy. Sponges are infamous for their lack of characters. However, by listing and discussing in a third part all characters available to taxonomists, we show how diverse characters are and that new ones are being used and tested, while old ones should be revisited. We then review the systematics of the four main classes of sponges (Hexactinellida, Calcispongiae, Homoscleromorpha and Demospongiae), each time focusing on current issues and case studies. We present a review of the taxonomic changes since the publication of the Systema Porifera (2002), and point to problems a sponge taxonomist is still faced with nowadays. To conclude, we make a series of proposals for the future of sponge systematics. In the light of recent studies, we establish a series of taxonomic changes that the sponge community may be ready to accept. We also propose a series of sponge new names and definitions following the PhyloCode. The issue of phantom species

The organisational and human resource challenges facing primary care trusts: protocol of a multiple case study

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Tim Scott J

2001-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The study is designed to assess the organisational and human resource challenges faced by Primary Care Trusts (PCTs. Its objectives are to: specify the organisational and human resources challenges faced by PCTs in fulfilling the roles envisaged in government and local policy; examine how PCTs are addressing these challenges, in particular, to describe the organisational forms they have adopted, and the OD/HR strategies and initiatives they have planned or in place; assess how effective these structures, strategies and initiatives have been in enabling the PCTs to meet the organisational and human resources challenges they face; identify the factors, both internal to the PCT and in the wider health community, which have contributed to the success or failure of different structures, strategies and initiatives. Methods The study will be undertaken in three stages. In Stage 1 the key literature on public sector and NHS organisational development and human resources management will be reviewed, and discussions will be held with key researchers and policy makers working in this area. Stage 2 will focus on detailed case studies in six PCTs designed to examine the organisational and human resources challenges they face. Data will be collected using semi-structured interviews, group discussion, site visits, observation of key meetings and examination of local documentation. The findings from the case study PCTs will be cross checked with a Reference Group of up to 20 other PCG/Ts, and key officers working in organisational development or primary care at local, regional and national level. In Stage 3 analysis of findings from the preparatory work, the case studies and the feedback from the Reference Group will be used to identify practical lessons for PCTs, key messages for policy makers, and contributions to further theoretical development.

'If it ain't broke, don't fix it': Challenges facing institutional ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

recruitment and retention of blacks and women in senior posts is still the major challenge facing .... classed social space in order to gain trust and to succeed in their careers. ... In this paper, we examine how participants in one particular ADP experience the .... they didn't want a new way of doing things and they believed the.

Challenges Facing 3-D Audio Display Design for Multimedia

Science.gov (United States)

Begault, Durand R.; Null, Cynthia H. (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

The challenges facing successful multimedia presentation depend largely on the expectations of the designer and end user for a given application. Perceptual limitations in distance, elevation and azimuth sound source simulation differ significantly between headphone and cross-talk cancellation loudspeaker listening and therefore must be considered. Simulation of an environmental context is desirable but the quality depends on processing resources and lack of interaction with the host acoustical environment. While techniques such as data reduction of head-related transfer functions have been used widely to improve simulation fidelity, another approach involves determining thresholds for environmental acoustic events. Psychoacoustic studies relevant to this approach are reviewed in consideration of multimedia applications

Challenges faced by cocoyam farmers in adapting to climate change in Southeast Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C.C. Ifeanyi-Obi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The study examined the challenges faced by cocoyam farmers in adapting to climate change in Southeast, Nigeria. Three hundred and eighty-four respondents selected through multi-stage sampling technique were used for the study. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and interview schedule and analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistical tools. Findings showed that majority were females (67%, married (92% and maintain average household size of 6 persons and a mean age of 51 years. They were mainly primary (32% and secondary (34% school certificate holders with farming (77% as their major occupation. The major cropping pattern practiced was mixed farming with cassava (63% and maize (58% as the major crops cultivated by the farmers. Majority of the farmers owned farms of one hectare and below accessed mainly through inheritance (76% and labour sourced mainly through hiring (50%. Most (81% of the farmers have spent more than ten years in farming. Climate change information was accessed mainly through their personal experience (64%, radio (42% and fellow villagers (39%. The study identified eight major challenges faced by cocoyam farmers in adapting to climate change namely Lack/high cost of farm inputs and low soil fertility (Factor 1, Land and labour constraints (Factor 2, Poor access to information and ineffectiveness of cooperatives (Factor 3, lack of/poor access to fund and credit facilities and poor government support (Factor 4, lack of improved varieties of cocoyam (factor 5, poor value attached to cocoyam (Factor 6, poor infrastructural capacity and technology know-how (Factor 7 and Transportation constraint (Factor 8. Analysis of variance identified significant variations in the challenges faced by cocoyam farmers in the study area. The study recommends enrollment in cooperatives and revitalizing existing cooperatives, re-orientation of farmers on the benefits of cocoyam and increased used of climate change

Electronic health systems: challenges faced by hospital-based providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Agno, Christina Farala; Guo, Kristina L

2013-01-01

The purpose of this article is to discuss specific challenges faced by hospitals adopting the use of electronic medical records and implementing electronic health record (EHR) systems. Challenges include user and information technology support; ease of technical use and software interface capabilities; compliance; and financial, legal, workforce training, and development issues. Electronic health records are essential to preventing medical errors, increasing consumer trust and use of the health system, and improving quality and overall efficiency. Government efforts are focused on ways to accelerate the adoption and use of EHRs as a means of facilitating data sharing, protecting health information privacy and security, quickly identifying emerging public health threats, and reducing medical errors and health care costs and increasing quality of care. This article will discuss physician and nonphysician staff training before, during, and after implementation; the effective use of EHR systems' technical features; the selection of a capable and secure EHR system; and the development of collaborative system implementation. Strategies that are necessary to help health care providers achieve successful implementation of EHR systems will be addressed.

Face Attention Network: An Effective Face Detector for the Occluded Faces

OpenAIRE

Wang, Jianfeng; Yuan, Ye; Yu, Gang

2017-01-01

The performance of face detection has been largely improved with the development of convolutional neural network. However, the occlusion issue due to mask and sunglasses, is still a challenging problem. The improvement on the recall of these occluded cases usually brings the risk of high false positives. In this paper, we present a novel face detector called Face Attention Network (FAN), which can significantly improve the recall of the face detection problem in the occluded case without comp...

Transition Program: The Challenges Faced by Special Needs Students in Gaining Work Experience

Science.gov (United States)

Alias, Aliza

2014-01-01

Transition program for special needs students is known to open opportunities for students with learning disabilities to gain work experience in actual work environment. The program provides training activities and also an opportunity to go for internship to gain work experience. Therefore, this study is to identify the challenges faced by special…

Regulatory challenges faced first Indonesia NPPs by independent TSOs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sri Budi Utami

2010-01-01

Technical and scientific support organizations (TSOs) dedicated to supporting national regulatory authorities. At present BAPETEN has internal TSOs. Pertaining to the regulatory control of nuclear safety, security, and safeguards for nuclear power plants (NPPs), independent TSOs providing support to the safety regulatory bodies are facing a number of technical challenges to ensuring the safety of NPPs. It is essential that BAPETEN need independent TSOs in order to warrant a sufficient level of safety, security and non proliferation in building and operating of first NPP. It is essential that BAPETEN need independent TSOs in order to warrant a sufficient level of safety, security and non proliferation in building and operating of first NPPs. (author)

Management challenges faced by managers of New Zealand long-term care facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Madas, E; North, N

2000-01-01

This article reports on a postal survey of 78 long-term care managers in one region of New Zealand, of whom 45 (58%) responded. Most long-term care managers (73.2%) were middle-aged females holding nursing but not management qualifications. Most long-term care facilities (69%) tended to be stand-alone facilities providing a single type of care (rest home or continuing care hospital). The most prominent issues facing managers were considered to be inadequate funding to match the growing costs of providing long-term care and occupancy levels. Managers believed that political/regulatory, economic and social factors influenced these issues. Despite a turbulent health care environment and the challenges facing managers, long-term care managers reported they were coping well and valued networking.

European cinema: face to face with Hollywood

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Elsaesser, T.

2005-01-01

In the face of renewed competition from Hollywood since the early 1980s and the challenges posed to Europe's national cinemas by the fall of the Wall in 1989, independent filmmaking in Europe has begun to re-invent itself. European Cinema: Face to Face with Hollywood re-assesses the different

Challenges and Specifications for Robust Face and Gait Recognition Systems for Surveillance Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BUCIU Ioan

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Automated person recognition (APR based on biometric signals addresses the process of automatically recognize a person according to his physiological traits (face, voice, iris, fingerprint, ear shape, body odor, electroencephalogram – EEG, electrocardiogram, or hand geometry, or behavioural patterns (gait, signature, hand-grip, lip movement. The paper aims at briefly presenting the current challenges for two specific non-cooperative biometric approaches, namely face and gait biometrics as well as approaches that consider combination of the two in the attempt of a more robust system for accurate APR, in the context of surveillance application. Open problems from both sides are also pointed out.

Oil producers facing a common challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galal, E.E.

1992-01-01

Among the numerous challenges facing our modern world, perhaps the most urgent and dominant are energy related. From the perspective of developing countries they are, in order of priorities, development, energy security and environment. Oil covers above 38% of the global commercial energy needs and gas about 20%. In some commanding sectors of the economy, like transport, oil is for now virtually the irreplaceable source of energy. In addition, oil and gas are two valuable primary materials of the chemical industry. It also happens that oil consumption is one of the sources of environmental pollution through the emission of CO 2 . Utilisation of the world's finite fossil energy resources (88% of total commercial energy) in the service of development reflects all the negative attributes of the mismanagement of the global economy, exemplified by waste, inefficiency, unfair terms of trade, market instability and short-sighted policies. These serious inequities have been further compounded by the growing menace of environmental and climatic degradation. In dealing with the interactions between these three complex systems, i.e., energy, environment and development, it is important for oil producers to delineate their priorities clearly, if they are to disentangle credible common goals for an international convention. (author)

Challenges and motivators to physical activity faced by retired men when ageing: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bredland, Ebba Langum; Söderström, Sylvia; Vik, Kjersti

2018-05-15

Active ageing reflects the message from World Health Organisation about addressing the challenge faced by the rapidly ageing population. Knowledge about barriers and facilitators to an active lifestyle must be given more attention. In addition, men seem to participate less in cultural activities and less in fall-prevention groups than women do. When mostly women work with the elderly in primary care, one might question whether the activities offered to older men meet their activity preferences. The aim of this study is to provide new knowledge about challenges and motivators encountered by retired men in maintaining physical activity when ageing. Nine retired men, aged between 66 and 83, wrote a Time Geographic Diary for 7 days each. Two focus group discussions with the men were held. A Systemic Text Condensation was used to analyse the data. The analyses identified three categories to describe challenges in being physical active: differences between men and women; meaningful physical activity; and environmental - especially socio-cultural - constraints. Motivating conditions were seen as: new activities to get younger friends, and more information about how to cope. To achieve the aim of active ageing, service providers as well as local authorities need to have a better understanding of the challenges retired men encounter when ageing. This study highlights vital aspects of the challenges faced by retired men in maintaining their physical activity level.

Maritime Education and Research to Face the XXI-st Century Challenges in Gdynia Maritime University’s Experience Part I – Maritime Universities Facing Today and Tomorrow’s Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janusz Mindykowski

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In the paper, divided into two parts, a problem of advancements in maritime education and research facing the 21st century challenges, based on the case study of the Gdynia Maritime University (GMU experience is discussed. Part I is devoted to the main directions of advances in the maritime education and research towards the challenges in a global meaning. In this context, the education and research potential of the Gdynia Maritime University, as one of the world-leading maritime universities, is shortly presented. Part II is dedicated to the Gdynia Maritime University experiencing the 21st century challenges. The GMU’s contribution and good practices concerning the participation in modification of the processes of the IMO STCW 78/2010 convention, adoption of programmes into the international and national qualification frameworks’ standards and procedures, as well as the development of research addressed to a new technological and organizational solution are described and analyzed.

Women In Action: Challenges Facing Women Entrepreneurs In The Gauteng Province Of South Africa

OpenAIRE

Elizabeth Chinomona; Eugine Tafadzwa Maziriri

2015-01-01

In today’s post-modern era, the role of women entrepreneurs in economic development is inevitable and women are willing to take action in business and contribute to the nation’s growth. Women are stepping up to own and run businesses in numbers that would have been hard to imagine a mere few decades ago. However, women entrepreneurs face a wide variety of challenges both in starting and in growing their business ventures. The objective of this paper is to investigate the challenges women entr...

"Accounting Education at a Crossroad in 2010" and "Challenges Facing Accounting Education in Australia"

Science.gov (United States)

de Lange, Paul; Watty, Kim

2011-01-01

Of the various reports released in 2010, two purport to examine the state of accounting education in Australia. These are "Accounting Education at a Crossroad in 2010" and "Challenges Facing Accounting Education in Australia". Both were released as collaborations of the leading academic organisation, the Accounting and Finance…

The Nigerian Economy in the Face of Socio-Political Challenges: A Retrospective View and Ways Forward

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomola M Obamuyi

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the Nigerian economy and the tendency for its growth in the face of several socio-political challenges facing the country, which have hampered the rate of economic development in spite of the tremendous human and material resources inherent. The paper identifies the socio-political challenges to include corruption, poverty, unemployment, insecurity, politics and governance, among others. The central argument of the paper is that steady economic growth can be achieved and financial crisis mitigated in Nigeria, if the effects of socio-political challenges, which are the key factors that have contributed to the high poverty, unemployment and economic instability in the country, are minimised. To ensure economic growth and move the country forward politically and economically, government must be more accountable in managing the nation’s resources in order to avoid wastage, poverty and unemployment. Close attention should be given to those socio-political challenges in the formulation of policies that aimed at maintaining economic growth at a level commensurate with the country’s growth rate. This study put forward that government must be proactive in all issues relating to the socio-political challenges to prevent resource mismanagement, poverty, unemployment, insecurity and slow economic growth in future.

Rural Teachers' Views: What Are Gender-Based Challenges Facing Free Primary Education in Lesotho?

Science.gov (United States)

Morojele, Pholoho

2013-01-01

This paper gives prominence to rural teachers' accounts of gender-based challenges facing Free Primary Education in Lesotho. It draws on feminist interpretations of social constructionism to discuss factors within the Basotho communities that affect gender equality in the schools. The inductive analysis offered makes use of the data generated from…

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR MICRO-SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESS IN INDONESIA FACING ASEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY

OpenAIRE

Raden Aswin Rahadi

2016-01-01

This research is a part of a continuous study to analyze the opportunities and challenges for micro-small and medium business in Indonesia when facing ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2016. It has its own uniqueness, as it will combine the point of view between current business owners and current literature study synthesis on business perception towards AEC. Ten business owners have been interviewed. The results suggested AEC provides challenges for the business owners, particularly in terms...

Challenges facing the distribution of an artificial-intelligence-based system for nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, S

1985-04-01

The marketing and successful distribution of artificial-intelligence-based decision-support systems for nursing face special barriers and challenges. Issues that must be confronted arise particularly from the present culture of the nursing profession as well as the typical organizational structures in which nurses predominantly work. Generalizations in the literature based on the limited experience of physician-oriented artificial intelligence applications (predominantly in diagnosis and pharmacologic treatment) must be modified for applicability to other health professions.

Menstrual Hygiene, Management, and Waste Disposal: Practices and Challenges Faced by Girls/Women of Developing Countries

OpenAIRE

Rajanbir Kaur; Kanwaljit Kaur; Rajinder Kaur

2018-01-01

Menstruation and menstrual practices still face many social, cultural, and religious restrictions which are a big barrier in the path of menstrual hygiene management. In many parts of the country especially in rural areas girls are not prepared and aware about menstruation so they face many difficulties and challenges at home, schools, and work places. While reviewing literature, we found that little, inaccurate, or incomplete knowledge about menstruation is a great hindrance in the path of p...

Oral Academic Discourse Socialisation: Challenges Faced by International Undergraduate Students in a Malaysian Public University

Science.gov (United States)

Mahfoodh, Omer Hassan Ali

2014-01-01

This paper reports a qualitative study which examines the challenges faced by six international undergraduate students in their socialisation of oral academic discourse in a Malaysian public university. Data were collected employing interviews. Students' presentations were also collected. Semi-structured interviews were transcribed verbatim and…

Decoding of faces and face components in face-sensitive human visual cortex

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David F Nichols

2010-07-01

Full Text Available A great challenge to the field of visual neuroscience is to understand how faces are encoded and represented within the human brain. Here we show evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI for spatially distributed processing of the whole face and its components in face-sensitive human visual cortex. We used multi-class linear pattern classifiers constructed with a leave-one-scan-out verification procedure to discriminate brain activation patterns elicited by whole faces, the internal features alone, and the external head outline alone. Furthermore, our results suggest that whole faces are represented disproportionately in the fusiform cortex (FFA whereas the building blocks of faces are represented disproportionately in occipitotemporal cortex (OFA. Faces and face components may therefore be organized with functional clustering within both the FFA and OFA, but with specialization for face components in the OFA and the whole face in the FFA.

The challenges facing today's operators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Walach, T. [Canadian District Energy Association, Vaughan, ON (Canada)

2004-07-01

A summary of how the Northwind Windsor plant operates was presented along with reasons why it is advantageous to get connected to a district heating system. The plant is a joint venture between Exelon Thermal Technologies and Ontario Power Generation. The plant produces and sells hot water, chilled water, steam and electricity to the Windsor Utilities Commission. Energy is then piped out to buildings in the area, including the Art Gallery of Windsor, the Royal Bank Business Centre, the Windsor Justice Facility, the Windsor Casino, and Northwind Windsor. The energy, which is transferred through heat exchangers, is used for space heating, domestic hot water heating, and air conditioning. The plant offers less management costs, lower energy costs, a lower level of risk management, stable energy rates, better use of building space, reliable service, and a cleaner environment. However, operators face significant challenges in terms of plant operation. They must be knowledgeable in the operation and maintenance of innovative equipment, and must have detailed information regarding operating efficiencies. District Energy requires more complex plants that use various energy saving technologies that deliver a broad range of energy types.

Western United States Dams Challenges Faced, Options, and Opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Raff, D.

2017-12-01

Water management in the Western United States relies significantly upon a fleet of small to very large engineered dams to store water during times of runoff and distribute that water during times of need. Much of this infrastructure is Federally owned and/or operated, and was designed and funded during the first half of the twentieth century through a complex set of repayment contracts for Federally authorized purposes addressing water supply, recreation, and hydropower, and other water management objectives. With environmental laws, namely the Endangered Species Act, and other environmental concerns taking a more active role in water resources in the mid to latter half of the twentieth century, this infrastructure is being stressed even greater than anticipated to provide authorized purposes. Additionally, weather and climate norms being experienced are certainly near the edges, if not outside, of anticipated variability in the climate and hydrology scenarios for which the infrastructure was designed. And, finally, these dams, economically designed for a lifespan of 50 - 100 years, are experiencing maintenance challenges from routine to significant. This presentation will focus on identifying some of the history and challenges facing the water infrastructure in the Western United States. Additionally, some perspectives on future paths to meet the needs of western irrigation and hydropower production will be provided.

Challenges and issues facing the future of nursing education: implications for ethnic minority faculty and students.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Sheila P; Davis, Danyetta D

2010-01-01

Current trends in higher education in the United States demand that nursing take stock of how it is prepared or being prepared to face challenges and issues impacting on its future. The intense effort made to attract students to pursue advanced training in science and engineering in the United States pales in comparison to the numbers of science and engineering majors produced yearly in international schools. As a result, more and more jobs are being outsourced to international markets. Could international outsourcing become a method of nursing education? Authors submit that to remain competitive, the nursing profession must attract a younger cohort of technologically savvy students and faculty reflective of the growing diverse population in the United States. Additionally, nursing programs in research universities face even more daunting challenges as it relates to mandates for funded research programs of educational units. This article offers suggestions and recommendations for nursing programs in higher education institutions on ways to attract and retain ethnic minorities and of how to harness the power of research to address burgeoning societal health challenges.

Viewing pain and happy faces elicited similar changes in postural body sway.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Gea

Full Text Available Affective facial expressions are potent social cues that can induce relevant physiological changes, as well as behavioral dispositions in the observer. Previous studies have revealed that angry faces induced significant reductions in body sway as compared with neutral and happy faces, reflecting an avoidance behavioral tendency as freezing. The expression of pain is usually considered an unpleasant stimulus, but also a relevant cue for delivering effective care and social support. Nevertheless, there are few data about behavioral dispositions elicited by the observation of pain expressions in others. The aim of the present research was to evaluate approach-avoidance tendencies by using video recordings of postural body sway when participants were standing and observing facial expressions of pain, happy and neutral. We hypothesized that although pain faces would be rated as more unpleasant than the other faces, they would provoke significant changes in postural body sway as compared to neutral facial expressions. Forty healthy female volunteers (mean age 25 participated in the study. Amplitude of forward movements and backward movements in the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral axes were obtained. Statistical analyses revealed that pain faces were the most unpleasant stimuli, and that both happy and pain faces were more arousing than neutral ones. Happy and pain faces also elicited greater amplitude of body sway in the anterior-posterior axes as compared with neutral faces. In addition, significant positive correlations were found between body sway elicited by pain faces and pleasantness and empathic ratings, suggesting that changes in postural body sway elicited by pain faces might be associated with approach and cooperative behavioral responses.

[Brazilian Army nurses and transportation of the wounded: a challenge faced during World War II].

Science.gov (United States)

Bernardes, Margarida Maria Rocha; Lopes, Gertrudes Teixeira

2007-01-01

This historic-sociologic study aims to analyse the challenges faced by the Brazilian Expeditionary Force's Air Transportation Nurses of the Army with the Theatre of Operations on the course of World War II. The primary source was comprised of a photograph from this time period and oral testimonies of those who participated in the conflict. Ideas by sociologist Pierre Bourdieu support the discussion. Results suggest that Brazilian nurses were challenged to transport the wounded without medical advice. We conclude that the challenge to fulfill the task imposed, which led to independent decision-making, gave confidence and autonomy to the ones already responsible for the transportation of the wounded.

Challenges Pre-Service Teachers Face When Implementing a 5E Inquiry Model of Instruction

Science.gov (United States)

Enugu, Ramya; Hokayem, Hayat

2017-01-01

This study examined the challenges that pre-service teachers faced when implementing inquiry and their perspective on how to overcome them. The data sample was 55 pre-service teachers (PSTs) enrolled into two sections of a science methods course in a private university in North Texas. The data sources consisted of inquiry-based lesson plans, PST…

Post-industrial landscape - its identification and classification as contemporary challenges faced by geographic research

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kolejka, Jaromír

2010-01-01

Roč. 14, č. 2 (2010), s. 67-78 ISSN 1842-5135 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30860518 Keywords : classification * geographical research * identification method * landscape structure Subject RIV: DE - Earth Magnetism, Geodesy, Geography http://studiacrescent.com/images/02_2010/09_jaromir_kolejka_post_industrial_landscape_its_identification_and_classification_as_contemporary_challenges_faced_by_geographic_.pdf

Compulsive exercise: links, risks and challenges faced

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lichtenstein MB

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Mia Beck Lichtenstein,1 Cecilie Juul Hinze,2 Bolette Emborg,3 Freja Thomsen,2 Simone Daugaard Hemmingsen4 1Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, 2Research Unit for Telepsychiatry and E-mental Health, Mental Health Services in the Region of Southern Denmark, Odense, 3Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, 4Research Unit, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Mental Health Services in the Region of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark Abstract: Compulsive exercise is a condition described since 1970s. It is characterized by a craving for physical training, resulting in uncontrollable excessive exercise behavior with harmful consequences, such as injuries and impaired social relations. It has not been accepted as a mental disorder in either International Classification of Diseases or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The aim of this literature review was to critically examine the research on links (comorbidity, risks (negative consequences, and challenges faced (problems in a treatment context. This review found that compulsive exercise is associated with eating disorder pathology, perfectionism, neuroticism, narcissism, and obsessive compulsive traits. The most prominent negative consequences were injuries, social impairment, and depression, but more research is needed to uncover the potential dysfunction resulting from compulsive exercise. As the condition is not recognized as a psychiatric disorder, studies on treatment interventions are sparse. Problems with compliance have been reported; therefore, motivational interviewing has been proposed as a treatment approach, in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy. This review summarizes and discusses findings on links/comorbidity, risks/negative consequences, and treatment challenges. We suggest that future studies should pay attention to both prevention and counseling in sports settings, where compulsive exercise

A New World for Museum Marketing? Facing the Old Dilemmas while Challenging New Market Opportunities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tanja Komarac

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Museums are part of a wider cultural and entertainment environment, which is ruled by highly demanding visitors who seek immersive experiences (edutainment and time-saving arrangement. This has encouraged and, in some opinions, forced museums to turn their focus from collections to visitors. In addition, museums have faced competition and new technologies in the form of virtual museums and virtual reality. This has emphasized the need to accept marketing as a survival tool and to make it into a link between museums and visitors. This article attempts to give current insights into museum marketing as part of the arts marketing field. Its aim is also to identify and explain some of the major challenges and opportunities facing everyday museum business, in order to provide insight into the complex world of museum marketing. Former findings about the development of museum marketing and its biggest changes and challenges are presented, summarized and analyzed.

‘Everyone has a secret they keep close to their hearts’: challenges faced by adolescents living with HIV infection at the Kenyan coast

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amina Abubakar

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The upsurge in the uptake of antiretroviral therapy (ART has led to a significant increase in the survival of vertically acquired HIV infected children, many of whom are currently living into adolescence and early adulthood. However little if anything is known of the lived experiences and the challenges faced by HIV positive adolescents in the African context. We set out to investigate psychosocial challenges faced by HIV infected adolescents on the Kenyan coast. Methods A total of 44 participants (12 HIV-infected adolescents, 7 HIV uninfected adolescents, and 25 key informants took part in this qualitative study, using individually administered in-depth interviews. A framework approach was used to analyze the data using NVIVO software. Results We observed that the challenges faced by adolescents in rural Kenya could be placed into six major themes: poverty, poor mental and physical health, the lack of a school system that is responsive to their needs, challenges in how to disclose to peers and family members, high levels of stigma in its various forms, and challenges of medical adherence leading to the need for close monitoring. Conclusion In this African community, vertically acquired HIV-infected adolescents face a complex set of social, economic and medical challenges. Our study points to the urgent need to develop multisectorial intervention support programmes to fully address these challenges.

Facing the Challenges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

He, Kai

2014-01-01

China's rise signifies a gradual transformation of the international system from unipolarity to a non-unipolar world. ,4s an organization of small and middle powers, ASEAN faces strategic uncertainties brought about by the power transition in the system. Deepening economic interdependence between...... Summit (EAS), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the ASEAN Community, to constrain and shape China's behaviour in the region in the post-Cold War era. It argues that due to globalization and economic interdependence, the power transition in the 21st century is different from...... the previous ones. ASEAN can potentially make a great contribution to a peaceful transformation of the international system. How to resolve the South China Sea disputes peacefully will be a critical task for both the ASEAN and Chinese leaders in the next decade or two....

Indigenous mothers face more than three delays: The challenges of multiculturalism in health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roosta-G., Manigeh

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Although the maternal mortality ratio has descended in Bolivia from 416 (1989 to 229 deaths (DHS 2003 per one hundred thousand live births, it is one of the highest in the region. As a national average, the ratio conceals the rural-urban, socio-economics differences and the reality of the indigenous population. Maternal mortality is one of the major challenges at national level. Reduction of maternal mortality, in addition of technical-medical measures offering health services, requires to focus on socio-cultural aspects that hamper the access to health services. This article examines challenges faced by indigenous mothers accessing the health services. In addition to the geographic, economic and administrative barriers that generate delays in access to the health services, there are others that are presented in the context of multiculturalism resulting from discriminatory attitudes exercised in health centers. The testimonies of indigenous mothers show delays faced in health centers because of prejudice and discrimination suffered, threatening the lives of mothers and their babies. The study also suggests the need to deepen the concept of multiculturalism as a successful strategy in health, in order to promote equity and social justice on the horizon of more inclusive societies.

Talking about epilepsy: Challenges parents face when communicating with their child about epilepsy and epilepsy-related issues.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Toole, Stephanie; Lambert, Veronica; Gallagher, Pamela; Shahwan, Amre; Austin, Joan K

2016-04-01

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the challenges that parents of children with epilepsy experienced when engaging in dialog with their child about epilepsy and epilepsy-related issues. Using a qualitative exploratory approach, interviews were conducted with 34 parents of children with epilepsy (aged 6-16 years), consisting of 27 mothers and 7 fathers. Data were transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed. Findings revealed five main themes: normalizing epilepsy, the invisibility of epilepsy, information concealment, fear of misinforming the child, and difficulty in discussing particular epilepsy-related issues. Many of the communicative challenges experienced by parents impacted on their ability to engage openly in parent-child dialog about epilepsy in the home. Parents face specific challenges when choosing to communicate with their child about epilepsy, relating to creating a sense of normality, reducing fear of causing their child worry, and having a lack of epilepsy-related knowledge. Healthcare professionals who work closely with families living with epilepsy should remain mindful of the importance of discussing family communication surrounding epilepsy and the challenges parents of children with epilepsy face when talking about epilepsy within the home. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nanotechnology: Nanomaterials are Widely Used in Commerce, but EPA Faces Challenges in Regulating Risk

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-01

549 Nanotechnology equivalent.17 In addition, nanotechnology -enabled water desalination and filtration systems may offer affordable...Senate NANOTECHNOLOGY Nanomaterials Are Widely Used in Commerce, but EPA Faces Challenges in Regulating Risk May 2010 GAO-10-549...2010 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2010 to 00-00-2010 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Nanotechnology : Nanomaterials Are Widely Used in Commerce

Immigrant to Canada, newcomer to childhood cancer: a qualitative study of challenges faced by immigrant parents.

Science.gov (United States)

Klassen, Anne F; Gulati, Sonia; Watt, Lisa; Banerjee, Ananya T; Sung, Lillian; Klaassen, Robert J; Dix, David; Poureslami, Iraj M; Shaw, Nicola

2012-05-01

Given the increasing numbers of immigrant families in Canada, it is imperative that healthcare providers (HCPs) understand the caregiving experiences of immigrant family caregivers. Our study aimed to explore any special challenges faced by immigrant parents of children with cancer and to identify supportive factors. A constructivist grounded theory approach was used. Participants included 50 first generation Chinese and South Asian parents of children with cancer who were at least six months post-diagnosis. Recruitment took place at six Canadian pediatric oncology centres. Interviews were conducted in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Urdu, Punjabi or Hindi. Analysis involved coding and the use of the constant comparison method. Interviewing continued until no new themes emerged. While immigrant parents described many challenges faced by any parent of a child with cancer, the context of being an immigrant made certain experiences particularly challenging. Parents described challenges in the following areas: managing caregiving demand and financial strain, accessing support from others, and interfacing with the healthcare system. Parents described receiving a range of practical, emotional, social and informational support from extended family, their workplace, other cancer families, community organizations and HCPs. Our study addresses an important gap in the research literature by providing practical insight into the experiences of immigrant family caregivers. Our findings may help to inform the development of pediatric oncology policies and programs in ways that respond to the unique needs and challenges of culturally and linguistically diverse families. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assessing Students Perceptions on Intensive Face to Face in Open ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Therefore, this study assessed students‟ perception on Intensive Face to Face sessions. The study specifically aimed at identifying students‟ perception on quality of interaction between tutors and students and between students on the other hand. It also explored the nature of challenges students meet in attending face to ...

Challenges Facing Crop Production And (Some) Potential Solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Schnable, P. S.

2017-12-01

To overcome some of the myriad challenges facing sustainable crop production we are seeking to develop statistical models that will predict crop performance in diverse agronomic environments. Crop phenotypes such as yield and drought tolerance are controlled by genotype, environment (considered broadly) and their interaction (GxE). As a consequence of the next generation sequencing revolution genotyping data are now available for a wide diversity of accessions in each of the major crops. The necessary volumes of phenotypic data, however, remain limiting and our understanding of molecular basis of GxE is minimal. To address this limitation, we are collaborating with engineers to construct new sensors and robots to automatically collect large volumes of phenotypic data. Two types of high-throughput, high-resolution, field-based phenotyping systems and new sensors will be described. Some of these technologies will be introduced within the context of the Genomes to Fields Initiative. Progress towards developing predictive models will be briefly summarized. An administrative structure that fosters transdisciplinary collaborations will be briefly described.

First liver transplant in Qatar: an evolving program facing many challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Khalaf, Hatem; Derballa, Moataz; Elmasry, Mohammed; Khalil, Ahmed; Yakoob, Rafie; Almohannadi, Muneera; Almaslamani, Muna; Fadhil, Riadh; Al-Kaabi, Saad; Al-Ansari, Abdulla; Almaslamani, Yousuf

2013-10-01

Beginning to do liver transplants in a developing country is challenging. We report on the first few liver transplants performed in Qatar and discuss future exceptions and challenges facing our program. The first liver transplant was performed in Qatar on December 6, 2011. Since starting the program, 4 deceased-donor liver transplants have been performed in Qatar. All recipients underwent a standard deceased-donor liver transplant procedure, which included a duct-to-duct biliary anastomosis without a veno-venous bypass. All liver transplants were performed at the Hamad Medical Corporation by a local team of surgeons without external assistance. The 4 patients were all men, with a median age of 56 years (age range, 46-63 y). Indications for liver transplant included hepatitis C cirrhosis in 2 patients, and 1 patient with hepatitis B cirrhosis with hepatocellular carcinoma, and the other patient with cryptogenic liver cirrhosis. Median amount of blood transfused was 6 units (range, 0-10 U); median time spent in the intensive care unit was 2 days (range, 2-5 d); median amount of time spent in the hospital was 10 days (range, 9-16 d). All 4 recipients have survived after a median follow-up of 438 days (range, 33-602 d) and are enjoying a healthy life, with no significant posttransplant complications. A deceased-donor liver transplant can be performed in Qatar with no external assistance. However, a severe organ shortage remains the biggest obstacle facing us. Efforts should be directed toward improving the number and quality of available deceased donors in Qatar. Meanwhile, live-donor liver transplant may be the only way for us, going forward, to prevent deaths on the waiting list.

Facing new safety-challenges in a large particle accelerator experiment at CERN

CERN Document Server

Schmidt, Reiner

1999-01-01

An upgraded safety concept for CMS has been adapted to the size of the project and its organisational challenges under today's budgetary constraints, as well as to the increasing levels of risk. Strong magnetic fields and high radiation levels, including neutrons, pose additional hazards to materials, to operators, to maintenance and to ultimate deposit of activated materials. CMS also fits the insurer's risk-description for modern facilities, i.e. characterised by "higher energy density, more combustible materials and unattended operation". The regulatory environment, consisting essentially of CERN's autonomous regulations as well as of those of its host countries, also need to be satisfied with much attention. To face this challenge, seven distinct safety management tools have been identified, which are described in some detail, namely clear safety objectives, documented safety requirements, open items list, safety ( and design)reviews, safety risk analysis, enforcement of compliance and quality management....

Challenges Facing Group Work Online

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Bo; Kang, Haijun

2016-01-01

Online group work can be complicated because of its asynchronous characteristics and lack of physical presence, and its requirements for skills in handling technology, human relationships, and content-related tasks. This study focuses on the administrative, logistical and relationship-related challenges in online group work. Challenges in areas…

A Short Twenty Years: Meeting the Challenges Facing Teachers Who Bring Rwanda into the Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Gudgel, Mark

2013-01-01

As the twentieth anniversary of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda approaches, Mark Gudgel argues that we should face the challenges posed by teaching about Rwanda. Drawing on his experience as a history teacher in the US, his experience researching and supporting others' classrooms in the US and UK, his training in Holocaust education and his knowledge…

Area Studies and Special Collections: Shared Challenges, Shared Strength

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, Lisa R.; Whittaker, Beth M.

2015-01-01

Special collections and area studies librarians face similar challenges in the changing academic library environment, including the need to articulate the value of these specialized collections and to mainstream processes and practices into larger discovery, teaching, learning, and research efforts. For some institutions, these similarities have…

Tolerance for distorted faces: challenges to a configural processing account of familiar face recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandford, Adam; Burton, A Mike

2014-09-01

Face recognition is widely held to rely on 'configural processing', an analysis of spatial relations between facial features. We present three experiments in which viewers were shown distorted faces, and asked to resize these to their correct shape. Based on configural theories appealing to metric distances between features, we reason that this should be an easier task for familiar than unfamiliar faces (whose subtle arrangements of features are unknown). In fact, participants were inaccurate at this task, making between 8% and 13% errors across experiments. Importantly, we observed no advantage for familiar faces: in one experiment participants were more accurate with unfamiliars, and in two experiments there was no difference. These findings were not due to general task difficulty - participants were able to resize blocks of colour to target shapes (squares) more accurately. We also found an advantage of familiarity for resizing other stimuli (brand logos). If configural processing does underlie face recognition, these results place constraints on the definition of 'configural'. Alternatively, familiar face recognition might rely on more complex criteria - based on tolerance to within-person variation rather than highly specific measurement. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Virtual reality balance training for elderly: Similar skiing games elicit different challenges in balance training.

Science.gov (United States)

de Vries, Aijse W; Faber, Gert; Jonkers, Ilse; Van Dieen, Jaap H; Verschueren, Sabine M P

2018-01-01

Virtual Reality (VR) balance training may have advantages over regular exercise training in older adults. However, results so far are conflicting potentially due to the lack of challenge imposed by the movements in those games. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess to which extent two similar skiing games challenge balance, as reflected in center of mass (COM) movements relative to their Functional Limits of Stability (FLOS). Thirty young and elderly participants performed two skiing games, one on the Wii Balance board (Wiiski), which uses a force plate, and one with the Kinect sensor (Kinski), which performs motion tracking. During gameplay, kinematics were captured using seven opto-electronical cameras. FLOS were obtained for eight directions. The influence of games and trials on COM displacement in each of the eight directions, and maximal COM speed, were tested with Generalized Estimated Equations. In all directions with anterior and medio-lateral, but not with a posterior component, subjects showed significantly larger maximal %FLOS displacements during the Kinski game than during the Wiiski game. Furthermore, maximal COM displacement, and COM speed in Kinski remained similar or increased over trials, whereas for Wiiski it decreased. Our results show the importance of assessing the movement challenge in games used for balance training. Similar games impose different challenges, with the control sensors and their gain settings playing an important role. Furthermore, adaptations led to a decrease in challenge in Wiiski, which might limit the effectiveness of the game as a balance-training tool. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Who governs energy? The challenges facing global energy governance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Florini, Ann; Sovacool, Benjamin K.

2009-01-01

This article conceptualizes the energy problems facing society from a global governance perspective. It argues that a notion of 'global energy governance,' taken to mean international collective action efforts undertaken to manage and distribute energy resources and provide energy services, offers a meaningful and useful framework for assessing energy-related challenges. The article begins by exploring the concepts of governance, global governance, and global energy governance. It then examines some of the existing institutions in place to establish and carry out rules and norms governing global energy problems and describes the range of institutional design options available to policymakers. It briefly traces the role of a selection of these institutions, from inter-governmental organizations to summit processes to multilateral development banks to global action networks, in responding to energy issues, and points out their strengths and weaknesses. The article concludes by analyzing how the various approaches to global governance differ in their applicability to addressing the conundrums of global energy problems.

Who governs energy? The challenges facing global energy governance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Florini, Ann; Sovacool, Benjamin K. [Centre on Asia and Globalisation, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, Singapore 259772 (Singapore)

2009-12-15

This article conceptualizes the energy problems facing society from a global governance perspective. It argues that a notion of 'global energy governance,' taken to mean international collective action efforts undertaken to manage and distribute energy resources and provide energy services, offers a meaningful and useful framework for assessing energy-related challenges. The article begins by exploring the concepts of governance, global governance, and global energy governance. It then examines some of the existing institutions in place to establish and carry out rules and norms governing global energy problems and describes the range of institutional design options available to policymakers. It briefly traces the role of a selection of these institutions, from inter-governmental organizations to summit processes to multilateral development banks to global action networks, in responding to energy issues, and points out their strengths and weaknesses. The article concludes by analyzing how the various approaches to global governance differ in their applicability to addressing the conundrums of global energy problems. (author)

Attention to internal face features in unfamiliar face matching.

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, Kingsley I; Butavicius, Marcus A; Lee, Michael D

2008-08-01

Accurate matching of unfamiliar faces is vital in security and forensic applications, yet previous research has suggested that humans often perform poorly when matching unfamiliar faces. Hairstyle and facial hair can strongly influence unfamiliar face matching but are potentially unreliable cues. This study investigated whether increased attention to the more stable internal face features of eyes, nose, and mouth was associated with more accurate face-matching performance. Forty-three first-year psychology students decided whether two simultaneously presented faces were of the same person or not. The faces were displayed for either 2 or 6 seconds, and had either similar or dissimilar hairstyles. The level of attention to internal features was measured by the proportion of fixation time spent on the internal face features and the sensitivity of discrimination to changes in external feature similarity. Increased attention to internal features was associated with increased discrimination in the 2-second display-time condition, but no significant relationship was found in the 6-second condition. Individual differences in eye-movements were highly stable across the experimental conditions.

Challenges facing air management for fuel cell systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davis, P.B. [Department of Energy (United States); Sutton, R. [Argonne National Lab. (United States); Wagner, F.W. [Energetics Incorporated (United States)

2000-07-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. automotive industry are working cooperatively under the auspices of the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV) to develop a six-passenger automobile that can achieve up to 80 mpg. while meeting customer needs and all safety and emission requirements. These partners are continuing to invest heavily in the research and development of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells as a clean and efficient energy conversion system for the PNGV. A critical challenge facing fuel cell systems for the PNGV is the development of efficient, compact, cost-effective air management systems. The U.S. Department of Energy has been exploring several compressor/expander options for pressurized fuel cell systems, including scroll, toroidal intersecting vane, turbine, twin screw, and piston technologies. Each of these technologies has strengths and weaknesses regarding efficiency, pressure ratio over turndown, size and weight, and cost. This paper will present data from the U.S. Department of Energy's research and development efforts on air management systems and will discusses recent program developments resulting from an independent peer review evaluation. (author)

Japan's shift to a proactive defense architecture: Challenges faced by industry, government, and society

OpenAIRE

Chung, Hoyoon

2017-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited As a result of the changing security environment in the Asia-Pacific, Japan is shifting to a more proactive defense policy, as outlined in the National Defense Program Guidelines (NDPG). This thesis investigates the challenges faced by Japan's industry, government, and society in meeting the NDPG objectives. To do this, this thesis probes the following problem areas: difficulties with indigenous production of weapons systems, inability...

Nanomaterials for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells; Materials Challenges Facing Electrical Energy Storate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gopal Rao, MRS Web-Editor; Yury Gogotsi, Drexel University; Karen Swider-Lyons, Naval Research Laboratory

2010-08-05

Symposium T: Nanomaterials for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells are under intense investigation worldwide for applications ranging from transportation to portable power. The purpose of this seminar is to focus on the nanomaterials and nanostructures inherent to polymer fuel cells. Symposium topics will range from high-activity cathode and anode catalysts, to theory and new analytical methods. Symposium U: Materials Challenges Facing Electrical Energy Storage Electricity, which can be generated in a variety of ways, offers a great potential for meeting future energy demands as a clean and efficient energy source. However, the use of electricity generated from renewable sources, such as wind or sunlight, requires efficient electrical energy storage. This symposium will cover the latest material developments for batteries, advanced capacitors, and related technologies, with a focus on new or emerging materials science challenges.

United States-Mexican Borderlands: Facing tomorrow's challenges through USGS science

Science.gov (United States)

Updike, Randall G.; Ellis, Eugene G.; Page, William R.; Parker, Melanie J.; Hestbeck, Jay B.; Horak, William F.

2013-01-01

Along the nearly 3,200 kilometers (almost 2,000 miles) of the United States–Mexican border, in an area known as the Borderlands, we are witnessing the expression of the challenges of the 21st century. This circular identifies several challenge themes and issues associated with life and the environment in the Borderlands, listed below. The challenges are not one-sided; they do not originate in one country only to become problems for the other. The issues and concerns of each challenge theme flow in both directions across the border, and both nations feel their effects throughout the Borderlands and beyond. The clear message is that our two nations, the United States and Mexico, face the issues in these challenge themes together, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) understands it must work with its counterparts, partners, and customers in both countries.Though the mission of the USGS is not to serve as land manager, law enforcer, or code regulator, its innovation and creativity and the scientific and technical depth of its capabilities can be directly applied to monitoring the conditions of the landscape. The ability of USGS scientists to critically analyze the monitored data in search of signals and trends, whether they lead to negative or positive results, allows us to reach significant conclusions—from providing factual conclusions to decisionmakers, to estimating how much of a natural resource exists in a particular locale, to predicting how a natural hazard phenomenon will unfold, to forecasting on a scale from hours to millennia how ecosystems will behave.None of these challenge themes can be addressed strictly by one or two science disciplines; all require well-integrated, cross-discipline thinking, data collection, and analyses. The multidisciplinary science themes that have become the focus of the USGS mission parallel the major challenges in the border region between Mexico and the United States. Because of this multidisciplinary approach, the USGS

Psychosocial challenges facing physicians of today.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnetz, B B

2001-01-01

Fundamental changes in the organization, financing, and delivery of health care have added new stressors or opportunities to the medical profession. These new potential stressors are in addition to previously recognized external and internal ones. The work environment of physicians poses both psychosocial, ergonomic, and physico-chemical threats. The psychosocial work environment has, if anything, worsened. Demands at work increase at the same time as influence over one's work and intellectual stimulation from work decrease. In addition, violence and the threat of violence is another major occupational health problem physicians increasingly face. Financial constraint, managed care and consumerism in health care are other factors that fundamentally change the role of physicians. The rapid deployment of new information technologies will also change the role of the physician towards being more of an advisor and information provider. Many of the minor health problems will increasingly be managed by patients themselves and by non-physician professionals and practitioners of complementary medicine. Finally, the economic and social status of physicians are challenged which is reflected in a slower salary increase compared to many other professional groups. The picture painted above may be seen as uniformly gloomy. In reality, that is not the case. There is growing interest in and awareness of the importance of the psychosocial work environment for the delivery of high quality care. Physicians under stress are more likely to treat patients poorly, both medically and psychologically. They are also more prone to make errors of judgment. Studies where physicians' work environment in entire hospitals has been assessed, results fed-back, and physicians and management have worked with focused improvement processes, have demonstrated measurable improvements in the ratings of the psychosocial work environment. However, it becomes clear from such studies that quality of the

Web-Based vs. Face-to-Face MBA Classes: A Comparative Assessment Study

Science.gov (United States)

Brownstein, Barry; Brownstein, Deborah; Gerlowski, Daniel A.

2008-01-01

The challenges of online learning include ensuring that the learning outcomes are at least as robust as in the face-to-face sections of the same course. At the University of Baltimore, both online sections and face-to-face sections of core MBA courses are offered. Once admitted to the MBA, students are free to enroll in any combination of…

Challenges for health care providers, parents and patients who face a child hood cancer diagnosis in Zambia.

Science.gov (United States)

Walubita, Mulima; Sikateyo, Bornwell; Zulu, Joseph M

2018-05-02

Zambia is experiencing high prevalence of childhood cancer. However, very few children access and complete treatment for cancer. This study aimed to document the challenges for health care providers, parents and patients who face a child hood cancer diagnosis in Zambia, and their coping strategies. This was an exploratory health facility-based qualitative study that was conducted at a Paediatric oncology ward at referral hospital in Zambia. In-depth individual interviews conducted with fifteen (15) caregivers and seven (7) key informants were analysed using thematic analysis. Several challenges related to managing the childhood cancer diagnosis were recorded. Individual and family challenges were inadequate knowledge on childhood cancer, lack of finances to meet treatment and transport costs as well as long period of hospitalisation that affected women's ability to perform multiple responsibilities. Whereas challenges at community level were inadequate support to address emotional and physical distress and social stigmatisation experienced by caregivers. Health systems issues included inadequate specialised health workers, poor communication among health workers, limited space and beds as well as insufficient supplies such as blood. Cultural related factors were the belief that cancer is a product of witchcraft as well as religious beliefs regarding the role of faith healing in childhood cancer treatment. Coping strategies used by parents/ caregivers included praying to God, material support from organisations and church as well as delaying having another child. Addressing the challenges for health care providers, parents and patients who face a childhood cancer diagnosis may require adopting a systems or an ecological approach that allows developing strategies that simultaneously address challenges related to the individual, family, community, health system and cultural aspects.

The Pediatric Home Care/Expenditure Classification Model (P/ECM): A Home Care Case-Mix Model for Children Facing Special Health Care Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Charles D.

2015-01-01

Case-mix classification and payment systems help assure that persons with similar needs receive similar amounts of care resources, which is a major equity concern for consumers, providers, and programs. Although health service programs for adults regularly use case-mix payment systems, programs providing health services to children and youth rarely use such models. This research utilized Medicaid home care expenditures and assessment data on 2,578 children receiving home care in one large state in the USA. Using classification and regression tree analyses, a case-mix model for long-term pediatric home care was developed. The Pediatric Home Care/Expenditure Classification Model (P/ECM) grouped children and youth in the study sample into 24 groups, explaining 41% of the variance in annual home care expenditures. The P/ECM creates the possibility of a more equitable, and potentially more effective, allocation of home care resources among children and youth facing serious health care challenges. PMID:26740744

The Pediatric Home Care/Expenditure Classification Model (P/ECM): A Home Care Case-Mix Model for Children Facing Special Health Care Challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Charles D

2015-01-01

Case-mix classification and payment systems help assure that persons with similar needs receive similar amounts of care resources, which is a major equity concern for consumers, providers, and programs. Although health service programs for adults regularly use case-mix payment systems, programs providing health services to children and youth rarely use such models. This research utilized Medicaid home care expenditures and assessment data on 2,578 children receiving home care in one large state in the USA. Using classification and regression tree analyses, a case-mix model for long-term pediatric home care was developed. The Pediatric Home Care/Expenditure Classification Model (P/ECM) grouped children and youth in the study sample into 24 groups, explaining 41% of the variance in annual home care expenditures. The P/ECM creates the possibility of a more equitable, and potentially more effective, allocation of home care resources among children and youth facing serious health care challenges.

The Pediatric Home Care/Expenditure Classification Model (P/ECM: A Home Care Case-Mix Model for Children Facing Special Health Care Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charles D. Phillips

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Case-mix classification and payment systems help assure that persons with similar needs receive similar amounts of care resources, which is a major equity concern for consumers, providers, and programs. Although health service programs for adults regularly use case-mix payment systems, programs providing health services to children and youth rarely use such models. This research utilized Medicaid home care expenditures and assessment data on 2,578 children receiving home care in one large state in the USA. Using classification and regression tree analyses, a case-mix model for long-term pediatric home care was developed. The Pediatric Home Care/Expenditure Classification Model (P/ECM grouped children and youth in the study sample into 24 groups, explaining 41% of the variance in annual home care expenditures. The P/ECM creates the possibility of a more equitable, and potentially more effective, allocation of home care resources among children and youth facing serious health care challenges.

Familiar face + novel face = familiar face? Representational bias in the perception of morphed faces in chimpanzees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoshi-Taka Matsuda

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Highly social animals possess a well-developed ability to distinguish the faces of familiar from novel conspecifics to induce distinct behaviors for maintaining society. However, the behaviors of animals when they encounter ambiguous faces of familiar yet novel conspecifics, e.g., strangers with faces resembling known individuals, have not been well characterised. Using a morphing technique and preferential-looking paradigm, we address this question via the chimpanzee’s facial–recognition abilities. We presented eight subjects with three types of stimuli: (1 familiar faces, (2 novel faces and (3 intermediate morphed faces that were 50% familiar and 50% novel faces of conspecifics. We found that chimpanzees spent more time looking at novel faces and scanned novel faces more extensively than familiar or intermediate faces. Interestingly, chimpanzees looked at intermediate faces in a manner similar to familiar faces with regards to the fixation duration, fixation count, and saccade length for facial scanning, even though the participant was encountering the intermediate faces for the first time. We excluded the possibility that subjects merely detected and avoided traces of morphing in the intermediate faces. These findings suggest a bias for a feeling-of-familiarity that chimpanzees perceive familiarity with an intermediate face by detecting traces of a known individual, as 50% alternation is sufficient to perceive familiarity.

Operational HOF Practices in the AREVA Group to Face New Challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coye de Brunélis, T.; Bachellerie, E.; Sidaner, J.-F.

2016-01-01

Operating experience from TMI and and more general experience from three decades of nuclear facility operations, have shown the value of safety culture’s contribution to nuclear risk management. More than ever, this particular aspect of human and organizational factors (HOF) is central to the AREVA group’s concerns as it faces new challenges. The first generation of operators commissioned the facilities and optimized their operation. This first phase gave them a better understanding of operations and related limits, particularly through testing and start-up operations and the responses that were found for all of the technical issues that arose. All of these interactions offered opportunities to make the safety challenges of processes and facilities tangible and directly perceptible. The young operators of those bygone years are now the ones who are “in the know” in the organizations, the ones with unique technical know-how and a multi-layered perception of the risks involved. Those first generations of operators, with their unique operational knowledge, are gradually leaving the industrial world. Replacing those skills creates a new set of challenges. Concomitantly, the French nuclear safety authority benefited from these facility start-ups to increase its skills by sharing in the learning process concerning the facilities’ operational realities and in the construction of a safety configuration program, and by gaining a concrete perception of risk. This fostered the mutual trust that is vital and integral to facility safety.

Facing the challenges of nuclear power at Ontario Power Generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howes, H.

1999-01-01

Nuclear power represents a major portion of Ontario Power Generation's generation mix and it will be the bedrock upon which we build a successful, competitive company. Our nuclear units offer many environmental and economic benefits, the one most relevant to this meeting is their significant contribution to the relatively low carbon intensity of Ontario's and Canada's electricity supply. In recent weeks, we have listened with great interest to the endorsement by our federal Minister of the Environment of nuclear technology as a means of reducing global warming. But endorsements of this type alone are not sufficient to ensure that nuclear remains an acceptable option for managing greenhouse gas emissions. Without public acceptance and support, the entire nuclear investment is endangered. At OPG we face three challenges to building this public support: we must continue to improve our safety margins and operating performance; we must continue to improve the environmental performance at our stations; and we must increase our community outreach. Today I would like to focus on the last two challenges and the actions that we are taking to maintain our social and environmental 'licence to operate.' But before I describe these initiatives, I will tell you about: the new company - Ontario Power Generation; the changes in store for Ontario's electricity sector; and our greenhouse gas emissions - the legacy from Ontario Hydro. (author)

Face mask ventilation--the dos and don'ts.

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Fiona E; Morley, Colin J

2013-12-01

Face mask ventilation provides respiratory support to newly born or sick infants. It is a challenging technique and difficult to ensure that an appropriate tidal volume is delivered because large and variable leaks occur between the mask and face; airway obstruction may also occur. Technique is more important than the mask shape although the size must appropriately fit the face. The essence of the technique is to roll the mask on to the face from the chin while avoiding the eyes, with a finger and thumb apply a strong even downward pressure to the top of the mask, away from the stem and sloped sides or skirt of the mask, place the other fingers under the jaw and apply a similar upward pressure. Preterm infants require continuous end-expiratory pressure to facilitate lung aeration and maintain lung volume. This is best done with a T-piece device, not a self-inflating or flow-inflating bag. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Side-View Face Recognition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Santemiz, P.; Spreeuwers, Lieuwe Jan; Veldhuis, Raymond N.J.

2010-01-01

Side-view face recognition is a challenging problem with many applications. Especially in real-life scenarios where the environment is uncontrolled, coping with pose variations up to side-view positions is an important task for face recognition. In this paper we discuss the use of side view face

Faces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, Kristine Køhler; Brotherton, Chloe

2018-01-01

for the face the be put into action. Based on an ethnographic study of Danish teenagers’ use of SnapChat we demonstrate how the face is used as a central medium for interaction with peers. Through the analysis of visual SnapChat messages we investigate how SnapChat requires the sender to put an ‘ugly’ face...... already secured their popular status on the heterosexual marketplace in the broad context of the school. Thus SnapChat functions both as a challenge to beauty norms of ‘flawless faces’ and as a reinscription of these same norms by further manifesting the exclusive status of the popular girl...

Similar Pressures, Different Contexts: Public Attitudes toward Government Intervention for Health Care in 21 Nations

Science.gov (United States)

Kikuzawa, Saeko; Olafsdottir, Sigrun; Pescosolido, Bernice A.

2008-01-01

Health care systems worldwide are experiencing similar pressures such as rising cost, aging populations, and increased burden of disease. While policy makers in all countries face these challenges, their responses must consider local pressures, particularly the implicit social contract between the state, medicine, and insurers. We argue that…

Challenges faced in rural hospitals: the experiences of nurse managers in Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Kakyo, T A; Xiao, L D

2018-04-19

The aim of this study was to understand nurse ward managers perceived challenges in the rural healthcare setting in Uganda. The health workforce, essential medicines and equipment and political unrest are the main factors affecting the international community in addressing the hefty disease burden in World Health Organization African regions. Nurse ward managers have an important role to play to mitigate these factors in health facilities in these regions through leadership, supervision and support for staff. This study utilized interpretive phenomenology based on Gadamer's hermeneutical principles. Eleven nurse managers from two rural public hospitals in Uganda were interviewed. Those with more than a 2-year experience in their management role were invited to participate in the study. Nurse managers pointed out four major challenges with staffing, while they worked in the rural healthcare settings. These are summarized into themes: 'Numbers do matter'; 'I cannot access them when I need them at work'; 'Challenges in dealing with negative attitudes'; and 'Questioning own ability to manage health services'. Health facilities in rural areas face extremely low staff-to-patient ratio, a high level of workload, lack of essential medicines and equipment, low salaries and delayed payment for staff. Nurse managers demonstrated situation-based performance to minimize the impact of these challenges on the quality and safety of patient care, but they had less influence on policy and resource development. It is imperative to mobilize education for nurse ward managers to enable them to improve leadership, management skills and to have a greater impact on policy and resource development. © 2018 International Council of Nurses.

Challenges faced by nurses in managing pain in a critical care setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Subramanian, Pathmawathi; Allcock, Nick; James, Veronica; Lathlean, Judith

2012-05-01

To explore nurses' challenges in managing pain among ill patients in critical care. Pain can lead to many adverse medical consequences and providing pain relief is central to caring for ill patients. Effective pain management is vital since studies show patients admitted to critical care units still suffer from significant levels of acute pain. The effective delivery of care in clinical areas remains a challenge for nurses involved with care which is dynamic and constantly changing in critically ill. Qualitative prospective exploratory design. This study employed semi structured interviews with nurses, using critical incident technique. Twenty-one nurses were selected from critical care settings from a large acute teaching health care trust in the UK. A critical incident interview guide was constructed from the literature and used to elicit responses. Framework analysis showed that nurses perceived four main challenges in managing pain namely lack of clinical guidelines, lack of structured pain assessment tool, limited autonomy in decision making and the patient's condition itself. Nurses' decision making and pain management can influence the quality of care given to critically ill patients. It is important to overcome the clinical problems that are faced when dealing with pain experience. There is a need for nursing education on pain management. Providing up to date and practical strategies may help to reduce nurses' challenges in managing pain among critically ill patients. Broader autonomy and effective decision making can be seen as beneficial for the nurses besides having a clearer and structured pain management guidelines. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Challenges faced by nuclear research centres in Indonesia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Subki, I.R.; Soentono, S.

2001-01-01

Nuclear research centres in Indonesia are mainly owned and operated by the National Nuclear Energy Agency, covering basically various research and development facilities for non-energy and energy related activities. The research and development activities cover a broad spectrum of basic, applied, and developmental research involving nuclear science and technology in supporting various fields ranging from basic human needs, e.g. food and health; natural resources and nuclear and environmental safety; as well as industry. Recent economic crisis, triggered by monetary turmoil, has dictated the IAEA to face new challenges and to give more efforts on the application of the so called 'instant technology' i.e. the technology which has been developed and is ready for implementation, especially on food and health, to be better utilized to overcome various problems in the society. Various short and medium term programmes on the application of isotopes, radiation, and nuclear techniques for non-energy related activities have emerged in accord with these efforts. In this regard, besides the intensification of the instant technology implementation on food and health, the nuclear research and development on food plant mutation, fertilizers, radio-vaccines, production of meat and milk, production processes of various radiopharmaceuticals, and radioisotopes as well as radiation processing related to agro-industry have to be intensified using the available laboratories processing facilities. The possibility of the construction of irradiators for post harvesting processes in some provinces is being studied, while the designing and manufacturing of various prototypes of devices, equipment, and instruments for nuclear techniques in health and industry are continued. Considering the wide applications of accelerators for non-energy and energy related research and development, construction of accelerator-based laboratories is being studied. In energy related research the feasibility of

The Human Face of Digital Preservation: Organizational and Staff Challenges, and Initiatives at the Bibliothèque nationale de France

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emmanuelle Bermès

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The process of setting up a digital preservation repository in compliance with the OAIS model is not only a technical challenge: libraries also need to develop and maintain appropriate skills and organizations. Digital activities, including digital preservation, are nowadays moving into the mainstream activity of the Library and are integrated in its workflows.The Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF has been working on the definition of digital preservation activities since 2003. This paper aims at presenting the organizational and human resources challenges that have been faced by the library in this context, and those that are still awaiting us.The library has been facing these challenges through a variety of actions at different levels: organizational changes, training sessions, dedicated working group and task forces, analysis of skills and processes, etc. The results of these actions provide insights on how a national library is going digital, and what is needed to reach this longstanding goal.

Technological challenges at ITER plasma facing components production in Russia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mazul, I.V., E-mail: mazuliv@niiefa.spb.su [Efremov Institute, 196641 St. Petersburg (Russian Federation); Belyakov, V.A.; Gervash, A.A.; Giniyatulin, R.N.; Guryeva, T.M.; Kuznetsov, V.E.; Makhankov, A.N.; Okunev, A.A. [Efremov Institute, 196641 St. Petersburg (Russian Federation); Sevryukov, O.N. [MEPhI, 115409 Moscow (Russian Federation)

2016-11-01

Highlights: • Technological aspects of ITER PFC manufacturing in Russia are presented. • Range of technologies to be used during manufacturing of ITER PFC at Efremov Institute has been, in general, defined and their complexity, originality and difficulty are described. • Some features and challenges of welding, brazing and various tests are discussed. - Abstract: Major part of ITER plasma facing components will be manufactured in the Russian Federation (RF). Operational conditions and other requirements to these components, as well as the scale of production, are quite unique. These unique features and related technological solutions found in the frame of the project are discussed. Procedure breakdown and results of qualification for the proposed technologies and potential producers are presented, based on mockups production and testing. Design of qualification mockups and prototypes, testing programs and results are described. Basic quantitative and qualitative parameters of manufactured components and methods of quality control are presented. Critical manufacturing issues and prospects for unique production for future fusion needs are discussed.

Big data : opportunities and challenges in asset management : final report.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-08-01

State Departments of Transportation and other transportation agencies collect vast quantities of data but managing, accessing and sharing data has been problematic and well documented. This project reviewed the similar challenges faced by other indus...

Challenges facing primary school educators of English Second (or Other Language learners in the Western Cape

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julie O'Connor

2009-05-01

Full Text Available We were prompted by the prevalence of English Second or Other Language (ESOL learners identified by educators as having language disorders and being referred for Speech-Language Therapy. We describe challenges faced by Grade 1, 2 and 3 educators at government schools in the Cape Metropolitan area who were working with such learners. Applying a mixed-methods descriptive design, a self-administered questionnaire and three focus groups were used for data collection. Educator perceptions and experiences regarding ESOL learners were described. Some participant educators at schools that were not former Model C schools had large classes, including large proportions of ESOL learners. Fur­thermore, there was a shortage of educators who were able to speak isiXhosa, the most frequently occurring first (or home language of the region's ESOL learners. Challenges faced by educators when teaching ESOL learners included learners' academic and socio-emotional difficulties and a lack of parent in­volvement in their children's education. Participant educators indicated a need for departmental, professional and parental support, and additional training and resources. Implications and recommendations for speech-language thera­pist and educator collaborations and speech-language therapists' participation in educator training were identified.

Behavioural and neurophysiological evidence for face identity and face emotion processing in animals

Science.gov (United States)

Tate, Andrew J; Fischer, Hanno; Leigh, Andrea E; Kendrick, Keith M

2006-01-01

Visual cues from faces provide important social information relating to individual identity, sexual attraction and emotional state. Behavioural and neurophysiological studies on both monkeys and sheep have shown that specialized skills and neural systems for processing these complex cues to guide behaviour have evolved in a number of mammals and are not present exclusively in humans. Indeed, there are remarkable similarities in the ways that faces are processed by the brain in humans and other mammalian species. While human studies with brain imaging and gross neurophysiological recording approaches have revealed global aspects of the face-processing network, they cannot investigate how information is encoded by specific neural networks. Single neuron electrophysiological recording approaches in both monkeys and sheep have, however, provided some insights into the neural encoding principles involved and, particularly, the presence of a remarkable degree of high-level encoding even at the level of a specific face. Recent developments that allow simultaneous recordings to be made from many hundreds of individual neurons are also beginning to reveal evidence for global aspects of a population-based code. This review will summarize what we have learned so far from these animal-based studies about the way the mammalian brain processes the faces and the emotions they can communicate, as well as associated capacities such as how identity and emotion cues are dissociated and how face imagery might be generated. It will also try to highlight what questions and advances in knowledge still challenge us in order to provide a complete understanding of just how brain networks perform this complex and important social recognition task. PMID:17118930

Lost in Translation: Adapting a Face-to-Face Course Into an Online Learning Experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Kenzig, Melissa J

2015-09-01

Online education has grown dramatically over the past decade. Instructors who teach face-to-face courses are being called on to adapt their courses to the online environment. Many instructors do not have sufficient training to be able to effectively move courses to an online format. This commentary discusses the growth of online learning, common challenges faced by instructors adapting courses from face-to-face to online, and best practices for translating face-to-face courses into online learning opportunities. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

Tolerance to spatial-relational transformations in unfamiliar faces: A further challenge to a configural processing account of identity recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Lorenzino, Martina; Caminati, Martina; Caudek, Corrado

2018-05-25

One of the most important questions in face perception research is to understand what information is extracted from a face in order to recognize its identity. Recognition of facial identity has been attributed to a special sensitivity to "configural" information. However, recent studies have challenged the configural account by showing that participants are poor in discriminating variations of metric distances among facial features, especially for familiar as opposed to unfamiliar faces, whereas a configural account predicts the opposite. We aimed to extend these previous results by examining classes of unfamiliar faces with which we have different levels of expertise. We hypothesized an inverse relation between sensitivity to configural information and expertise with a given class of faces, but only for neutral expressions. By first matching perceptual discriminability, we measured tolerance to subtle configural transformations with same-race (SR) versus other-race (OR) faces, and with upright versus upside-down faces. Consistently with our predictions, we found a lower sensitivity to at-threshold configural changes for SR compared to OR faces. We also found that, for our stimuli, the face inversion effect disappeared for neutral but not for emotional faces - a result that can also be attributed to a lower sensitivity to configural transformations for faces presented in a more familiar orientation. The present findings question a purely configural account of face processing and suggest that the role of spatial-relational information in face processing varies according to the functional demands of the task and to the characteristics of the stimuli. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Not-for-profit hospitals fight tax-exempt challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Hudson, T

1990-10-20

The message being sent by local tax boards, state agencies, and the Internal Revenue Service is clear: Not-for-profit hospitals will have to justify their tax-exempt status. But complying with this demand can be a costly administrative burden. Just ask the executives who have been through the experience. CEO Richard Anderson, of St. Luke's Hospital, Bethlehem, PA, is luckier than some executives who have faced tax-exempt challenges. He won his hospital's case. But he still faces a yearly battle: The hospital must prove its compliance annually to the county board of assessors. Other executives report similar experiences. Our cover story takes an in-depth look at how administrators faced challenges to their hospital's tax status and what they learned about their relationship with their communities, as well as a complete state and federal legislative outlook for future developments.

Virtual reality balance training for elderly: Similar skiing games elicit different challenges in balance training

OpenAIRE

de Vries, Aijse W.; Faber, Gert; Jonkers, Ilse; Van Dieen, Jaap H.; Verschueren, Sabine M.P.

2018-01-01

Background Virtual Reality (VR) balance training may have advantages over regular exercise training in older adults. However, results so far are conflicting potentially due to the lack of challenge imposed by the movements in those games. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess to which extent two similar skiing games challenge balance, as reflected in center of mass (COM) movements relative to their Functional Limits of Stability (FLOS). Methods Thirty young and elderly participants p...

Development of Critical Thinking Skills through Writing Tasks: Challenges Facing Maritime English Students at Aqaba College, AlBalqa Applied University, Jordan

Science.gov (United States)

Alidmat, Ali Odeh Hammoud; Ayassrah, Mohamed Ayed

2017-01-01

Teaching English for Special Purposes (ESP) in a context where English is taught as a Foreign Language (EFL) is no easy task. There is in fact extensive research reporting on challenges facing both teacher and student in the Foreign Language classroom where language skills must be learnt outside their usual context. Even more challenging is…

Challenges in Exercise Physiology Research and Education

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Li Li; Diffee, Gary; Schrage, William

2008-01-01

Similar to other subdisciplines in kinesiology, exercise physiology (EP) as a field is facing challenges in both research (creation and dissemination of new knowledge) and education (classroom instruction and student mentoring). In the current communication, we will learn from the history, analyze the current status of the field, and provide some…

Animal models of binge drinking, current challenges to improve face validity.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeanblanc, Jérôme; Rolland, Benjamin; Gierski, Fabien; Martinetti, Margaret P; Naassila, Mickael

2018-05-05

Binge drinking (BD), i.e., consuming a large amount of alcohol in a short period of time, is an increasing public health issue. Though no clear definition has been adopted worldwide the speed of drinking seems to be a keystone of this behavior. Developing relevant animal models of BD is a priority for gaining a better characterization of the neurobiological and psychobiological mechanisms underlying this dangerous and harmful behavior. Until recently, preclinical research on BD has been conducted mostly using forced administration of alcohol, but more recent studies used scheduled access to alcohol, to model more voluntary excessive intakes, and to achieve signs of intoxications that mimic the human behavior. The main challenges for future research are discussed regarding the need of good face validity, construct validity and predictive validity of animal models of BD. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[The Quebec Healthy Cities and Towns Network: a powerful movement faced with new challenges].

Science.gov (United States)

Simard, Paule

2007-01-01

After twenty years serving its members, the Quebec Healthy Cities and Towns Network (QHCTN) faces several challenges. There are currently many changes being made in the local organization and the administration of services. The Network, through its capacity to mobilize the different municipalities, is the best placed to advocate and support a coordinated approach to government initiatives and also to encourage partnerships with other institutions (education, health, socio-economic) and communities. There is, nonetheless, a need to rethink its direct support to members, especially in terms of communication and networking among them.

Challenges of microtome‐based serial block‐face scanning electron microscopy in neuroscience

Science.gov (United States)

WANNER, A. A.; KIRSCHMANN, M. A.

2015-01-01

Summary Serial block‐face scanning electron microscopy (SBEM) is becoming increasingly popular for a wide range of applications in many disciplines from biology to material sciences. This review focuses on applications for circuit reconstruction in neuroscience, which is one of the major driving forces advancing SBEM. Neuronal circuit reconstruction poses exceptional challenges to volume EM in terms of resolution, field of view, acquisition time and sample preparation. Mapping the connections between neurons in the brain is crucial for understanding information flow and information processing in the brain. However, information on the connectivity between hundreds or even thousands of neurons densely packed in neuronal microcircuits is still largely missing. Volume EM techniques such as serial section TEM, automated tape‐collecting ultramicrotome, focused ion‐beam scanning electron microscopy and SBEM (microtome serial block‐face scanning electron microscopy) are the techniques that provide sufficient resolution to resolve ultrastructural details such as synapses and provides sufficient field of view for dense reconstruction of neuronal circuits. While volume EM techniques are advancing, they are generating large data sets on the terabyte scale that require new image processing workflows and analysis tools. In this review, we present the recent advances in SBEM for circuit reconstruction in neuroscience and an overview of existing image processing and analysis pipelines. PMID:25907464

Challenges Facing Managers in Managing Conflict in Schools in the South and South Central Regions of Botswana

Science.gov (United States)

Morake, Nnior Machomi; Monobe, Ratau John; Dingwe, Stephonia

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the challenges facing managers in managing conflict in schools of South and South Central Regions of Botswana. In this study, the schedule of interview was used to collect empirical data. A random sample of 50 school managers and deputy school managers was selected for interviews. Major findings of the…

Automatic landmark detection and face recognition for side-view face images

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Santemiz, P.; Spreeuwers, Lieuwe Jan; Veldhuis, Raymond N.J.; Broemme, Arslan; Busch, Christoph

2013-01-01

In real-life scenarios where pose variation is up to side-view positions, face recognition becomes a challenging task. In this paper we propose an automatic side-view face recognition system designed for home-safety applications. Our goal is to recognize people as they pass through doors in order to

Using an Iterative Mixed-Methods Research Design to Investigate Schools Facing Exceptionally Challenging Circumstances within Trinidad and Tobago

Science.gov (United States)

De Lisle, Jerome; Seunarinesingh, Krishna; Mohammed, Rhoda; Lee-Piggott, Rinnelle

2017-01-01

In this study, methodology and theory were linked to explicate the nature of education practice within schools facing exceptionally challenging circumstances (SFECC) in Trinidad and Tobago. The research design was an iterative quan>QUAL-quan>qual multi-method research programme, consisting of 3 independent projects linked together by overall…

When health systems are barriers to health care: challenges faced by uninsured Mexican kidney patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Kierans, Ciara; Padilla-Altamira, Cesar; Garcia-Garcia, Guillermo; Ibarra-Hernandez, Margarita; Mercado, Francisco J

2013-01-01

Chronic Kidney Disease disproportionately affects the poor in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). Mexico exemplifies the difficulties faced in supporting Renal Replacement Therapy (RRT) and providing equitable patient care, despite recent attempts at health reform. The objective of this study is to document the challenges faced by uninsured, poor Mexican families when attempting to access RRT. The article takes an ethnographic approach, using interviewing and observation to generate detailed accounts of the problems that accompany attempts to secure care. The study, based in the state of Jalisco, comprised interviews with patients, their caregivers, health and social care professionals, among others. Observations were carried out in both clinical and social settings. In the absence of organised health information and stable pathways to renal care, patients and their families work extraordinarily hard and at great expense to secure care in a mixed public-private healthcare system. As part of this work, they must navigate challenging health and social care environments, negotiate treatments and costs, resource and finance healthcare and manage a wide range of formal and informal health information. Examining commonalities across pathways to adequate healthcare reveals major failings in the Mexican system. These systemic problems serve to reproduce and deepen health inequalities. A system, in which the costs of renal care are disproportionately borne by those who can least afford them, faces major difficulties around the sustainability and resourcing of RRTs. Attempts to increase access to renal therapies, therefore, need to take into account the complex social and economic demands this places on those who need access most. This paper further shows that ethnographic studies of the concrete ways in which healthcare is accessed in practice provide important insights into the plight of CKD patients and so constitute an important source of evidence in that effort.

Interpretative challenges in face analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

de Oliveira, Sandi Michele; Hernández-Flores, Nieves

2015-01-01

In current research on face analysis questions of who and what should be interpreted, as well as how, are of central interest. In English language research, this question has led to a debate on the concepts of P1 (laypersons, representing the “emic” perspective) and P2 (researchers, representing...... in Spanish and address forms in European Portuguese, we view P1 and P2 as being far more complex than the literature suggests, with subgroups (different types of laypersons and researchers, respectively). At the micro-level we will describe the roles each subgroup plays in the interpretative process...

The Internationalization of Teacher Education: Different Contexts, Similar Challenges

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Bruno Leutwyler

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This is a comparative study focused on the internationalization of teacher education in three countries – Bulgaria, Switzerland, and South Africa. The authors stress on the fact that on the one hand, teacher education is exposed to the increasing imperative to internationalize but on the other hand, teacher education is traditionally to a very large extent nationally shaped. The classical fields of internationalization of teacher education – individual mobility of students and staff, program and provider mobility, internationalization of the curriculum, internationalization of the campus, international cooperation – are used as a basis for constructing the chapter. The authors present these fields in teacher education in Bulgaria, Switzerland, and South Africa. Then, comparing the three different national contexts, some common features, similarities and differences between the countries are analyzed. Finally, the study ends with synthesizing two main challenges that illustrate how an appropriate internationalization of teacher education is still to be developed.

Comparing Costs of Telephone versus Face-to-Face Extended Care Programs for the Management of Obesity in Rural Settings

Science.gov (United States)

Radcliff, Tiffany A.; Bobroff, Linda B.; Lutes, Lesley D.; Durning, Patricia E.; Daniels, Michael J.; Limacher, Marian C.; Janicke, David M.; Martin, A. Daniel; Perri, Michael G.

2012-01-01

Background A major challenge following successful weight loss is continuing the behaviors required for long-term weight maintenance. This challenge may be exacerbated in rural areas with limited local support resources. Objective This study describes and compares program costs and cost-effectiveness for 12-month extended care lifestyle maintenance programs following an initial 6-month weight loss program. Design A 1-year prospective controlled randomized clinical trial. Participants/Setting The study included 215 female participants age 50 or older from rural areas who completed an initial 6-month lifestyle program for weight loss. The study was conducted from June 1, 2003, to May 31, 2007. Intervention The intervention was delivered through local Cooperative Extension Service offices in rural Florida. Participants were randomly-assigned to a 12-month extended care program using either individual telephone counseling (n=67), group face-to-face counseling (n=74), or a mail/control group (n=74). Main Outcome Measures Program delivery costs, weight loss, and self-reported health status were directly assessed through questionnaires and program activity logs. Costs were estimated across a range of enrollment sizes to allow inferences beyond the study sample. Statistical Analyses Performed Non-parametric and parametric tests of differences across groups for program outcomes were combined with direct program cost estimates and expected value calculations to determine which scales of operation favored alternative formats for lifestyle maintenance. Results Median weight regain during the intervention year was 1.7 kg for participants in the face-to-face format, 2.1 kg for the telephone format, and 3.1 kg for the mail/control format. For a typical group size of 13 participants, the face-to-face format had higher fixed costs, which translated into higher overall program costs ($420 per participant) when compared to individual telephone counseling ($268 per participant) and

Are reading and face processing related?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Starrfelt, Randi; Klargaard, Solja; Petersen, Anders

2015-01-01

Traditionally, perceptual processing of faces and words is considered highly specialized, strongly lateralized, and largely independent. This has, however, recently been challenged by studies showing that learning to read may affect the perceptual and neural processes involved in face recognition......, a lower perceptual threshold, and higher processing speed for words compared to letters. In sum, we find no evidence that reading skills are abnormal in developmental prosopagnosia, a finding that may challenge the recently proposed hypothesis that reading development and face processing abilities...

Early (N170) activation of face-specific cortex by face-like objects

OpenAIRE

Hadjikhani, Nouchine; Kveraga, Kestutis; Naik, Paulami; Ahlfors, Seppo P.

2009-01-01

The tendency to perceive faces in random patterns exhibiting configural properties of faces is an example of pareidolia. Perception of ‘real’ faces has been associated with a cortical response signal arising at about 170ms after stimulus onset; but what happens when non-face objects are perceived as faces? Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we found that objects incidentally perceived as faces evoked an early (165ms) activation in the ventral fusiform cortex, at a time and location similar t...

Addressing professional resource challenges facing modern utilities with technological solutions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goldie, T. [Hydro One Networks Inc., Toronto, ON (Canada); Hodder, S. [GE Digital Energy, Toronto, ON (Canada)

2008-07-01

The challenges facing electric utilities regarding a shortage of highly qualified labour to maintain, refurbish and expand electrical infrastructure can be attributed to a wave of retirements in skilled employees, a shortage of entry-level workers and a rapidly increasing workload caused by investment in electricity infrastructure. Two solutions were presented for finding and sustaining an adequate personnel base. The first involved developing local talent, both entry-level and mid-career staff to ensure that work continuity and workplace safety are maintained. The second involved the implementation of technological solutions to help optimize the use of existing and future labour resources. This paper presented the human resource programs developed by Hydro One, the largest electrical transmission and distribution utility in the province of Ontario. Their initiatives include raising the profile of the utility work environment through strategic partnerships with educational institutions and developing in house offerings to supplement existing academic programs. This paper also presented a technical solution to address the resources challenges specifically associated with power system protection and control. The solution targets professional and skilled trades involved in the design, installation and maintenance of automated substations and protection and control systems. It is based on the premise that resource optimization can be achieved by reducing inconsistent design and construction practices and replacing these designs with highly standardized materials with digital communications using IEC 61850. This new technology should attract young professionals to the power engineering field while still maintaining a high comfort level with the established professional workforce. 5 refs., 4 figs.

Article Commentary: The interRAI Pediatric Home Care (PEDS HC Assessment: Evaluating the Long-term Community-Based Service and Support Needs of Children Facing Special Healthcare Challenges

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Charles D. Phillips

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The vast majority of assessment instruments developed to assess children facing special healthcare challenges were constructed to assess children within a limited age range or children who face specific conditions or impairments. In contrast, the interRAI Pediatric Home Care (PEDS HC Assessment Form was specifically designed to assess the long-term community-based service and support needs of children and youth aged from four to 20 years who face a wide range of chronic physical or behavioral health challenges. Initial research indicates that PEDS HC items exhibit good predictive validity–-explaining significant proportions of the variance in parents’ perceptions of needs, case managers’ service authorizations, and Medicaid program expenditures for long-term community-based services and supports. In addition, PEDS HC items have been used to construct scales that summarize the strengths and needs of children facing special healthcare challenges. Versions of the PEDS HC are now being used in Medicaid programs in three states in the United States.

Challenges faced by women with disabilities in accessing sexual and reproductive health in Zimbabwe: The case of Chitungwiza town

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tafadzwa Rugoho

2017-05-01

Conclusion: The government, in partnership with other stakeholders, should address challenges faced by women with disabilities when accessing sexual and reproductive health services. Non-government, private hospitals and profit-making organisations should join hands with government in funding health requirements for women with disabilities.

Missed Opportunities for Science Learning: Unacknowledged Unscientific Arguments in Asynchronous Online and Face-to-Face Discussions

Science.gov (United States)

Callis-Duehl, Kristine; Idsardi, Robert; Humphrey, Eve A.; Gougis, Rebekka Darner

2018-02-01

We explored the scientific argumentation that occurs among university biology students during an argumentation task implemented in two environments: face-to-face in a classroom and online in an asynchronous discussion. We observed 10 student groups, each composed of three students. Our analysis focused on how students respond to their peers' unscientific arguments, which we define as assertions, hypotheses, propositions, or explanations that are inaccurate or incomplete from a scientific perspective. Unscientific arguments provide opportunities for productive dissent, scientific argumentation, and conceptual development of scientifically desirable conceptions. We found that students did not respond to the majority of unscientific arguments in both environments. Challenges to unscientific arguments were expressed as a question or through explanation, although the latter was more common online than face-to-face. Students demonstrated significantly more epistemic distancing in the face-to-face environment than the online environment. We discuss the differences in discourse observed in both environments and teaching implications. We also provide direction for future research seeking to address the challenges of engaging students in productive scientific argumentation in both face-to-face and online environments.

Phishing Detection: Analysis of Visual Similarity Based Approaches

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Ankit Kumar Jain

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Phishing is one of the major problems faced by cyber-world and leads to financial losses for both industries and individuals. Detection of phishing attack with high accuracy has always been a challenging issue. At present, visual similarities based techniques are very useful for detecting phishing websites efficiently. Phishing website looks very similar in appearance to its corresponding legitimate website to deceive users into believing that they are browsing the correct website. Visual similarity based phishing detection techniques utilise the feature set like text content, text format, HTML tags, Cascading Style Sheet (CSS, image, and so forth, to make the decision. These approaches compare the suspicious website with the corresponding legitimate website by using various features and if the similarity is greater than the predefined threshold value then it is declared phishing. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of phishing attacks, their exploitation, some of the recent visual similarity based approaches for phishing detection, and its comparative study. Our survey provides a better understanding of the problem, current solution space, and scope of future research to deal with phishing attacks efficiently using visual similarity based approaches.

Challenges facing post-war tourism development: the case of Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jamal Mohammadi

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This study presents an empirical investigation to study the post-war tourism in sought west region of Iran. This region is the host of many Iranian who wish remember the events of War between Iran and Iraq. Many high school or university students travel to the region through cultural as well as religious communities. This paper tries to analyze the challenges facing these people when they travel to province of Khozestan, Iran. The study designs a questionnaire in Likert scale and distributes it among some randomly selected people who visited the region. The implementation of Pearson correlation test has determined that “Weakness of tourism infrastructure facilities and services” is to be blamed the most followed by “Underdevelopment of decision making centers”. Moreover, path analysis has been implemented to detect direct and indirect effects of different factors on development of tourism in the region. In our survey, marketing, culture and weakness in infrastructures have been determined the most important factors influencing on development of the region.

Adjudicating between face-coding models with individual-face fMRI responses.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johan D Carlin

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The perceptual representation of individual faces is often explained with reference to a norm-based face space. In such spaces, individuals are encoded as vectors where identity is primarily conveyed by direction and distinctiveness by eccentricity. Here we measured human fMRI responses and psychophysical similarity judgments of individual face exemplars, which were generated as realistic 3D animations using a computer-graphics model. We developed and evaluated multiple neurobiologically plausible computational models, each of which predicts a representational distance matrix and a regional-mean activation profile for 24 face stimuli. In the fusiform face area, a face-space coding model with sigmoidal ramp tuning provided a better account of the data than one based on exemplar tuning. However, an image-processing model with weighted banks of Gabor filters performed similarly. Accounting for the data required the inclusion of a measurement-level population averaging mechanism that approximates how fMRI voxels locally average distinct neuronal tunings. Our study demonstrates the importance of comparing multiple models and of modeling the measurement process in computational neuroimaging.

Challenges Faced by Development Partners in Supporting the Growth and Development of Commercial Enterprises in Lira District, Northern Uganda

Science.gov (United States)

Eton, Marus; Mwirumubi, Richard; Edaku, Charles

2017-01-01

Entrepreneurship is defined as the process where an individual discovers, evaluates and exploit opportunities independently. Most countries have embraced entrepreneurship development as ways of creating employment and economic growth and development. The objective of the study was to examine the challenges faced by commercial enterprises in Lira…

Side-View Face Recognition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Santemiz, P.; Spreeuwers, Lieuwe Jan; Veldhuis, Raymond N.J.; van den Biggelaar, Olivier

As a widely used biometrics, face recognition has many advantages such as being non-intrusive, natural and passive. On the other hand, in real-life scenarios with uncontrolled environment, pose variation up to side-view positions makes face recognition a challenging work. In this paper we discuss

Supply constraints : Australia and Canada coal industry face logistics and capacity challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borsato, J.

2010-01-01

Australia and Canada are benefiting from a global increase in coal consumption, but face challenges regarding coal and coal export capacity. Coal is Australia's biggest export commodity, accounting for over 50 percent of world coking coal exports, with almost 75 percent of those exports destined for Asian markets, primarily Japan. However, the number of ships delayed at Australian ports hit a record of 223 bulk carriers in early 2010. Compared to Canada, Australia faces greater logistical issues getting coal into port and onto ships at its 9 loading terminals. Two of Canada's 3 major shipping terminals, Westshore and Neptune, have some additional capacity. Its third terminal, Ridley Island, has considerable potential to carry more coal. With 98 percent of all coal moved by rail in Australia, rail issues also hinder growth. A national approach to planning freight transport on both roads and rail is being developed. While infrastructure issues remain the single greatest barrier to export growth for Australia's coal sector, Canada's most immediate issues pertain to mine permitting and mine-site expansion. In 2009, Canada exported 28 million tonnes of coal, 90 percent of it metallurgical. With approximately 70 million tonnes of annual production, mostly in British Columbia and Alberta, coal remains the number one commodity in Canada carried by rails and shipped from ports. 1 fig.

What are the challenges facing our industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

This presentation relates to the changing business climate of the petroleum industry worldwide. The author gives a touch on the changes of what the industry is facing and the response together with the keys to long-term shareholder value

What are the challenges facing our industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-12-01

This presentation relates to the changing business climate of the petroleum industry worldwide. The author gives a touch on the changes of what the industry is facing and the response together with the keys to long-term shareholder value

The changing face of nanomaterials: Risk assessment challenges along the value chain.

Science.gov (United States)

Mattsson, Mats-Olof; Simkó, Myrtill

2017-03-01

Risk assessment (RA) of manufactured nanomaterials (MNM) is essential for regulatory purposes and risk management activities. Similar to RA of "classical" chemicals, MNM RA requires knowledge about exposure as well as of hazard potential and dose response relationships. What makes MNM RA especially challenging is the multitude of materials (which is expected to increase substantially in the future), the complexity of MNM value chains and life cycles, the accompanying possible changes in material properties over time and in contact with various environmental and organismal milieus, and the difficulties to obtain proper exposure data and to consider the proper dose metric. This article discusses these challenges and also critically overviews the current state of the art regarding MNM RA approaches. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An applet for the Gabor similarity scaling of the differences between complex stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Margalit, Eshed; Biederman, Irving; Herald, Sarah B; Yue, Xiaomin; von der Malsburg, Christoph

2016-11-01

It is widely accepted that after the first cortical visual area, V1, a series of stages achieves a representation of complex shapes, such as faces and objects, so that they can be understood and recognized. A major challenge for the study of complex shape perception has been the lack of a principled basis for scaling of the physical differences between stimuli so that their similarity can be specified, unconfounded by early-stage differences. Without the specification of such similarities, it is difficult to make sound inferences about the contributions of later stages to neural activity or psychophysical performance. A Web-based app is described that is based on the Malsburg Gabor-jet model (Lades et al., 1993), which allows easy specification of the V1 similarity of pairs of stimuli, no matter how intricate. The model predicts the psycho physical discriminability of metrically varying faces and complex blobs almost perfectly (Yue, Biederman, Mangini, von der Malsburg, & Amir, 2012), and serves as the input stage of a large family of contemporary neurocomputational models of vision.

Thai Language Sentence Similarity Computation Based on Syntactic Structure and Semantic Vector

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hongbin; Feng, Yinhan; Cheng, Liang

2018-03-01

Sentence similarity computation plays an increasingly important role in text mining, Web page retrieval, machine translation, speech recognition and question answering systems. Thai language as a kind of resources scarce language, it is not like Chinese language with HowNet and CiLin resources. So the Thai sentence similarity research faces some challenges. In order to solve this problem of the Thai language sentence similarity computation. This paper proposes a novel method to compute the similarity of Thai language sentence based on syntactic structure and semantic vector. This method firstly uses the Part-of-Speech (POS) dependency to calculate two sentences syntactic structure similarity, and then through the word vector to calculate two sentences semantic similarity. Finally, we combine the two methods to calculate two Thai language sentences similarity. The proposed method not only considers semantic, but also considers the sentence syntactic structure. The experiment result shows that this method in Thai language sentence similarity computation is feasible.

Regulatory challenges and approaches to characterize nanomedicines and their follow-on similars.

Science.gov (United States)

Mühlebach, Stefan; Borchard, Gerrit; Yildiz, Selcan

2015-03-01

Nanomedicines are highly complex products and are the result of difficult to control manufacturing processes. Nonbiological complex drugs and their biological counterparts can comprise nanoparticles and therefore show nanomedicine characteristics. They consist of not fully known nonhomomolecular structures, and can therefore not be characterized by physicochemical means only. Also, intended copies of nanomedicines (follow-on similars) may have clinically meaningful differences, creating the regulatory challenge of how to grant a high degree of assurance for patients' benefit and safety. As an example, the current regulatory approach for marketing authorization of intended copies of nonbiological complex drugs appears inappropriate; also, a valid strategy incorporating the complexity of such systems is undefined. To demonstrate sufficient similarity and comparability, a stepwise quality, nonclinical and clinical approach is necessary to obtain market authorization for follow-on products as therapeutic alternatives, substitution and/or interchangeable products. To fill the regulatory gap, harmonized and science-based standards are needed.

Expression modeling for expression-invariant face recognition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haar, F.B. Ter; Veltkamp, R.C.

2010-01-01

Morphable face models have proven to be an effective tool for 3D face modeling and face recognition, but the extension to 3D face scans with expressions is still a challenge. The two main difficulties are (1) how to build a new morphable face model that deals with expressions, and (2) how to fit

Revisiting hansen's disease: Recognizing the many neurodermatologic faces and its diagnostic challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bhaskara P Shelley

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Hansen's disease (HD looms still as a public health problem. Conventional wisdom and teaching largely view HD as a predominantly dermatologic disorder with much emphasis in the dermatology postgraduate curriculum. This review attempts to reorient this view and reemphasize that HD has primarily neurologic underpinnings since Mycobacterium leprae is an intracellular neurotropic bacterium. The main thrust of this article would, therefore, be a neurologist's perspective of HD. The cutaneous manifestations of HD are the sequelae of the neurobiology of M. leprae, its selective predilection to human Schwann cells, neurovascular bundle and its localization in the intracutaneous nerve plexus of the skin. We discuss the nuances of HD as a “great imitator,” the many faces of its neurodermatologic clinical presentation, the neurologic basis of HD clinical examination, and its diagnostic and therapeutic challenges.

Some environmental challenges which the uranium production industry faces in the 21st century

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Lisheng

2004-01-01

Some of the environmental challenges which the uranium production industry faces in the 21st century have been discussed in the paper. They are: the use of the linear non-threshold (LNT) model for radiation protection, the concept of 'controllable dose' as an alternative to the current International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) system of dose limitation, the future of collective dose and the ALARA (As low As Reasonably Achievable) principle and the application of a risk-based framework for managing hazards. The author proposes that, the risk assessment/risk management framework could be used for managing the environmental, safety and decommissioning issues associated with the uranium fuel cycle. (author)

Specific vulnerability of face perception to noise: a similar effect in schizophrenia patients and healthy individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yue; McBain, Ryan; Norton, Daniel

2015-02-28

Face perception plays a foundational role in the social world. This perceptual ability is deficient in schizophrenia. A noise-filtering mechanism is essential for perceptual processing. It remains unclear as to whether a specific noise-filtering mechanism is implicated in the face perception problem or a general noise-filtering mechanism is involved which also mediates non-face visual perception problems associated with this psychiatric disorder. This study examined and compared the effects of external noise on the performance of face discrimination and car discrimination in schizophrenia patients (n=25) and healthy controls (n=27). Superimposing the external visual noise on face or car stimuli elevated perceptual thresholds (i.e. degraded performance levels) for both face and car discrimination. However, the effect of noise was significantly larger on face than on car discrimination, both in patients and controls. This pattern of results suggests specific vulnerability of face processing to noise in healthy individuals and those with schizophrenia. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

An exploration into pedagogic frailty: Transitioning from face-to-face to online

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Irina Niculescu

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Pedagogic frailty and concept mapping can simultaneously encourage personal and organisational change by supporting critical reflection and resilience. These ideas are nascent within higher education institutions and currently, at the University of Surrey, are only developed through face-to-face sessions. This revealed the need for a scalable intervention which engages academics with the discourse on introspective and professional development practices. In response, we have created the design for a blended programme of online foundation for concept mapping leading to face-to-face workshops to explore the pedagogic frailty model. This paper will discuss some significant challenges arising from transitioning self-reflective practices from face-to-face to online spaces. In the process, we will consider ways in which learning design can take the learner context into account.

Early (M170) activation of face-specific cortex by face-like objects.

Science.gov (United States)

Hadjikhani, Nouchine; Kveraga, Kestutis; Naik, Paulami; Ahlfors, Seppo P

2009-03-04

The tendency to perceive faces in random patterns exhibiting configural properties of faces is an example of pareidolia. Perception of 'real' faces has been associated with a cortical response signal arising at approximately 170 ms after stimulus onset, but what happens when nonface objects are perceived as faces? Using magnetoencephalography, we found that objects incidentally perceived as faces evoked an early (165 ms) activation in the ventral fusiform cortex, at a time and location similar to that evoked by faces, whereas common objects did not evoke such activation. An earlier peak at 130 ms was also seen for images of real faces only. Our findings suggest that face perception evoked by face-like objects is a relatively early process, and not a late reinterpretation cognitive phenomenon.

Early (N170) activation of face-specific cortex by face-like objects

Science.gov (United States)

Hadjikhani, Nouchine; Kveraga, Kestutis; Naik, Paulami; Ahlfors, Seppo P.

2009-01-01

The tendency to perceive faces in random patterns exhibiting configural properties of faces is an example of pareidolia. Perception of ‘real’ faces has been associated with a cortical response signal arising at about 170ms after stimulus onset; but what happens when non-face objects are perceived as faces? Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we found that objects incidentally perceived as faces evoked an early (165ms) activation in the ventral fusiform cortex, at a time and location similar to that evoked by faces, whereas common objects did not evoke such activation. An earlier peak at 130 ms was also seen for images of real faces only. Our findings suggest that face perception evoked by face-like objects is a relatively early process, and not a late re-interpretation cognitive phenomenon. PMID:19218867

About-face on face recognition ability and holistic processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Richler, Jennifer J; Floyd, R Jackie; Gauthier, Isabel

2015-01-01

Previous work found a small but significant relationship between holistic processing measured with the composite task and face recognition ability measured by the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT; Duchaine & Nakayama, 2006). Surprisingly, recent work using a different measure of holistic processing (Vanderbilt Holistic Face Processing Test [VHPT-F]; Richler, Floyd, & Gauthier, 2014) and a larger sample found no evidence for such a relationship. In Experiment 1 we replicate this unexpected result, finding no relationship between holistic processing (VHPT-F) and face recognition ability (CFMT). A key difference between the VHPT-F and other holistic processing measures is that unique face parts are used on each trial in the VHPT-F, unlike in other tasks where a small set of face parts repeat across the experiment. In Experiment 2, we test the hypothesis that correlations between the CFMT and holistic processing tasks are driven by stimulus repetition that allows for learning during the composite task. Consistent with our predictions, CFMT performance was correlated with holistic processing in the composite task when a small set of face parts repeated over trials, but not when face parts did not repeat. A meta-analysis confirms that relationships between the CFMT and holistic processing depend on stimulus repetition. These results raise important questions about what is being measured by the CFMT, and challenge current assumptions about why faces are processed holistically.

Assessing Student Performance and Perceptions in Lecture Capture vs. Face-to-Face Course Delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Euzent, Patricia; Martin, Thomas; Moskal, Patrick; Moskal, Patsy

2011-01-01

Public universities are currently facing a challenge in determining how to deliver quality instruction in the face of severe fiscal constraints. With recent technological advances, courses streamed over the Internet (i.e., lecture capture) are now becoming common. However, little research has been published that specifically examines student…

Understanding and Facing Discipline-Related Challenges in the English as a Foreign Language Classroom at Public Schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josefina Quintero Corzo

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Complying with school regulations and teachers' instructions is a basic principle of an excellent class; both novice and experienced teachers face challenging situations when getting into real classrooms, especially those related to classroom management. There are various reasons that explain discipline problems in public schools, as well as varied strategies beginning teachers create and try when coping with those challenges. This article reports an action research study on how this methodology helped a group of teacher-trainees overcome indiscipline in English as a foreign language classrooms at public schools, and align with professional development initiatives which focus on reflection and decision-making processes that the new Colombian policies demand from new teachers seeking a higher quality of education.

Challenges faced by primary care physicians when prescribing for patients with chronic diseases in a teaching hospital in Malaysia: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sellappans, Renukha; Lai, Pauline Siew Mei; Ng, Chirk Jenn

2015-08-27

The aim of this study was to identify the challenges faced by primary care physicians (PCPs) when prescribing medications for patients with chronic diseases in a teaching hospital in Malaysia. 3 focus group discussions were conducted between July and August 2012 in a teaching primary care clinic in Malaysia. A topic guide was used to facilitate the discussions which were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a thematic approach. PCPs affiliated to the primary care clinic were purposively sampled to include a range of clinical experience. Sample size was determined by thematic saturation of the data. 14 family medicine trainees and 5 service medical officers participated in this study. PCPs faced difficulties in prescribing for patients with chronic diseases due to a lack of communication among different healthcare providers. Medication changes made by hospital specialists, for example, were often not communicated to the PCPs leading to drug duplications and interactions. The use of paper-based medical records and electronic prescribing created a dual record system for patients' medications and became a problem when the 2 records did not tally. Patients sometimes visited different doctors and pharmacies for their medications and this resulted in the lack of continuity of care. PCPs also faced difficulties in addressing patients' concerns, and dealing with patients' medication requests and adherence issues. Some PCPs lacked time and knowledge to advise patients about their medications and faced difficulties in managing side effects caused by the patients' complex medication regimen. PCPs faced prescribing challenges related to patients, their own practice and the local health system when prescribing for patients with chronic diseases. These challenges must be addressed in order to improve chronic disease management in primary care and, more importantly, patient safety. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not

Challenges faced by professional nurses when implementing the Expanded Programme on Immunisation at rural clinics in Capricorn District, Limpopo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tebogo M. Mothiba

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background: Immunisation is the cornerstone of primary healthcare. Apart from the provision of safe water, immunisation remains the most cost-effective public health intervention currently available. Immunisation prevents infectious conditions that are debilitating, fatal and have the potential to cause huge public health burdens, both financially and socially, in South Africa. Aim: To determine the challenges faced by professional nurses when implementing the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI at rural clinics in Capricorn District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Setting: The study was conducted in selected primary healthcare clinics of Capricorn District, Limpopo Province. Methods: A qualitative explorative descriptive contextual research design was used to gather data related to the challenges faced by professional nurses when implementing EPI at rural clinics in Capricorn District. Results: The findings revealed that professional nurses had knowledge of the programme, but that they experienced several challenges during implementation of EPI that included staff shortages and problems related to maintenance of the vaccines’ potency. Conclusions: The Department of Health as well as the nursing administration should monitor policies and guidelines, and especially maintenance of a cold chain for vaccines, to ensure that they are practised throughout Limpopo Province. The problem of staff shortages also needs to be addressed so that the EPI can achieve its targeted objectives. Keywords: Professional nurse, knowledge, EPI-SA, immunisation

Factors influencing men entering the nursing profession, and understanding the challenges faced by them: Iranian and developed countries' perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Zamanzadeh, Vahid; Valizadeh, Leila; Negarandeh, Reza; Monadi, Morteza; Azadi, Arman

2013-12-01

Men entering the nursing profession have been investigated from several different perspectives. Due to male gender characteristics and existing public image, nursing is often not considered as a career choice by men. Whether nursing would benefit from increased number of men is a key question in the literature. The purpose of this integrative review of the literature was to identify factors influencing men to enter the nursing profession. In addition, it sought to understand the challenges they are confronted within this profession. A systematic search of the existing literature was performed using an Internet search with broad keywords to access related articles in both Persian and English databases. Finally, 34 studies (written between 2000 and early 2013) were selected and surveyed. Most of the studies were conducted in developed counties. The review identified reasons why males choose nursing, and other challenges facing men entering and working in nursing. Themes that emerged from the literature include educational and societal barriers experienced by men in nursing, recruitment, career choice, and role strain. Regarding men's influences on professional development, and also the importance of gender-based caring, policies for recruitment and retention of men in nursing must be followed hastily. However, there is a need for further research regarding the challenges faced by men entering nursing, in both Iran and other developing countries.

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR MICRO-SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESS IN INDONESIA FACING ASEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raden Aswin Rahadi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This research is a part of a continuous study to analyze the opportunities and challenges for micro-small and medium business in Indonesia when facing ASEAN Economic Community (AEC in 2016. It has its own uniqueness, as it will combine the point of view between current business owners and current literature study synthesis on business perception towards AEC. Ten business owners have been interviewed. The results suggested AEC provides challenges for the business owners, particularly in terms of capital; competitiveness; sales system; innovation; finance, bureaucracy; and government preparedness. AEC also provides opportunities, in terms of market potential; creativity; export opportunities; business owners’ resistances and sustainability; and knowledge of local market. From all of the keywords mentioned by the respondents, there are four main attributes considered as important: human resources; creativities; market share; and capital. Finally, most of the respondents suggested that AEC will bring more positive influences for the development of micro-small and medium business in Indonesia.

Hyper-realistic face masks: a new challenge in person identification.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, Jet Gabrielle; Ueda, Yoshiyuki; Minemoto, Kazusa; Noyes, Eilidh; Yoshikawa, Sakiko; Jenkins, Rob

2017-01-01

We often identify people using face images. This is true in occupational settings such as passport control as well as in everyday social environments. Mapping between images and identities assumes that facial appearance is stable within certain bounds. For example, a person's apparent age, gender and ethnicity change slowly, if at all. It also assumes that deliberate changes beyond these bounds (i.e., disguises) would be easy to spot. Hyper-realistic face masks overturn these assumptions by allowing the wearer to look like an entirely different person. If unnoticed, these masks break the link between facial appearance and personal identity, with clear implications for applied face recognition. However, to date, no one has assessed the realism of these masks, or specified conditions under which they may be accepted as real faces. Herein, we examined incidental detection of unexpected but attended hyper-realistic masks in both photographic and live presentations. Experiment 1 (UK; n = 60) revealed no evidence for overt detection of hyper-realistic masks among real face photos, and little evidence of covert detection. Experiment 2 (Japan; n = 60) extended these findings to different masks, mask-wearers and participant pools. In Experiment 3 (UK and Japan; n = 407), passers-by failed to notice that a live confederate was wearing a hyper-realistic mask and showed limited evidence of covert detection, even at close viewing distance (5 vs. 20 m). Across all of these studies, viewers accepted hyper-realistic masks as real faces. Specific countermeasures will be required if detection rates are to be improved.

Challenges for Nordic VET-systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Christian Helms

2015-01-01

, this challenge is not new. It has been on the agenda since the late 1960s following the crisis for apprenticeship and the growing demand for equal access to all levels of education. What is new, however, is that the challenge has intensified and the solutions developed since the 1970s don’t appear tenable today......The systems of vocational education and training (VET) in the Nordic Countries all face a similar challenge: to offer double qualifications. The Nordic VET-systems are expected to give access not only to skilled employment, but also to higher education. As an increasing share of young people....... This situation calls for new solutions to tackle the challenge of double qualifications. The question, which I will examine in this chapter, is how the Nordic VET-systems have handled this challenge in different ways and what these systems can learn from Switzerland, which is often highlighted as a model...

The Challenges Facing Accounting Education: The Nigerian ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The need of the accounting profession to effectively and continuously meet new challenges confronting it and adapt its services to changing conditions and circumstances has become a necessity to the survival of the profession and the society. The challenges confronting the accountant on his role to the society at large in a ...

Technical progress faced with the challenges of the energy sector in the future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maillard, D.

1999-01-01

The colloquium organised by the Association of Energy Economists dealing with the theme 'Technical progress faced with the challenges of the energy sector in the future' takes place against a backdrop of ever-increasing initiatives in this field, for example at the World Energy Council or the International Energy Agency Faith in technical progress is widespread but should be supported by studies without any preconceived ideas. Research and development efforts must be fully supported, and in a climate of opening markets and liberalization the public authorities have a major role to pay. Historically, the markets have always been able to meet new needs thanks to technology, but the ambitious targets that the international community has set itself regarding the emission of greenhouse gases imply technical improvements and major investments. (authors)

Meeting Cathala-Letort named: the challenges of the processes engineering facing the hydrogen-energy; Journee Cathala-Letort intitulee: les defis du genie des procedes face a l'hydrogene-energie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2004-07-01

This document provides the presentations proposed during the day Cathala-Letort on the challenges of the processes engineering facing the hydrogen-energy. In the context of the greenhouse effect increase and the fossil energies resources decrease, it brings information on researches on hydrogen technologies, carbon dioxide sequestration, hydrogen supply, production, storage and distribution and the thermo-chemical cycles. (A.L.B.)

Collaborative Random Faces-Guided Encoders for Pose-Invariant Face Representation Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Ming; Zhang, Yizhe; Fu, Yun

2018-04-01

Learning discriminant face representation for pose-invariant face recognition has been identified as a critical issue in visual learning systems. The challenge lies in the drastic changes of facial appearances between the test face and the registered face. To that end, we propose a high-level feature learning framework called "collaborative random faces (RFs)-guided encoders" toward this problem. The contributions of this paper are three fold. First, we propose a novel supervised autoencoder that is able to capture the high-level identity feature despite of pose variations. Second, we enrich the identity features by replacing the target values of conventional autoencoders with random signals (RFs in this paper), which are unique for each subject under different poses. Third, we further improve the performance of the framework by incorporating deep convolutional neural network facial descriptors and linking discriminative identity features from different RFs for the augmented identity features. Finally, we conduct face identification experiments on Multi-PIE database, and face verification experiments on labeled faces in the wild and YouTube Face databases, where face recognition rate and verification accuracy with Receiver Operating Characteristic curves are rendered. In addition, discussions of model parameters and connections with the existing methods are provided. These experiments demonstrate that our learning system works fairly well on handling pose variations.

Nonverbal Learning Disabilities : What kind of communication challenges do parents face when communicating with their children with Nonverbal Learning Disabilities, and what kind of strategies the parents use to overcome the challenges?

OpenAIRE

Ramos, Alexandra Jacinta

2011-01-01

This is a qualitative study that explores and tries to understand what kind of communicational challenges do parents face when communicating with their children with Nonverbal Learning Disabilities, and to comprehend what kind of strategies these parents use to overcome these challenges. The designation of the Nonverbal Learning Disabilities (NLD) was formerly proposed by Johnson and Myklebust. NLD were firstly described by Myklebust as an inability to read and understand nonverbal aspect...

Are we facing new health challenges and diseases in reindeer in Fennoscandia?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morten Tryland

2013-03-01

Full Text Available A large number of semi-domesticated reindeer is lost every year. Predators are the single most important factor for these losses, whereas restrictions on food availability some years also may cause high mortality. In the past, reindeer herding was challenged by severe infectious diseases, killing hundreds and thousands of animals, and having huge economic and social impact on reindeer herding in Fennoscandia. The general zoo-sanitary situation in Fennoscandia is very favourable for the time being, but reindeer herding is sometimes challenged by disease outbreaks, and diseases play an important role for survival and fitness of reindeer. Reindeer herding is also facing changes and challenges, which also may impact reindeer health and the disease status. Introduction of infectious agents not commonly present in the reindeer population may take place through import of animals, as well as by contact between reindeer, livestock and wildlife. Further, changes in the herding, such as increased feeding, transport, size of herds, animal density and stress load on the animals, may affect the animals ability to cope with infectious diseases. Also changes in weather conditions and climate, such as increased precipitation and mean temperature, may over time lead to restricted availability of pastures, changes in vegetation and changed conditions for parasites and insect vectors. These changes might be especially important for the reproductive success, including fitness of the calves during their first winter. To be able to cope with these changes and their potential impact on reindeer health, increased efforts should be made to gather reference data on health and disease parameters from the different reindeer herding districts, along with epidemiological risk factor analysis. This would increase the ability for the reindeer herding to cope with changes and to continue to produce quality meat products for the market.

Facing aggression: cues differ for female versus male faces.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shawn N Geniole

Full Text Available The facial width-to-height ratio (face ratio, is a sexually dimorphic metric associated with actual aggression in men and with observers' judgements of aggression in male faces. Here, we sought to determine if observers' judgements of aggression were associated with the face ratio in female faces. In three studies, participants rated photographs of female and male faces on aggression, femininity, masculinity, attractiveness, and nurturing. In Studies 1 and 2, for female and male faces, judgements of aggression were associated with the face ratio even when other cues in the face related to masculinity were controlled statistically. Nevertheless, correlations between the face ratio and judgements of aggression were smaller for female than for male faces (F(1,36 = 7.43, p = 0.01. In Study 1, there was no significant relationship between judgements of femininity and of aggression in female faces. In Study 2, the association between judgements of masculinity and aggression was weaker in female faces than for male faces in Study 1. The weaker association in female faces may be because aggression and masculinity are stereotypically male traits. Thus, in Study 3, observers rated faces on nurturing (a stereotypically female trait and on femininity. Judgements of nurturing were associated with femininity (positively and masculinity (negatively ratings in both female and male faces. In summary, the perception of aggression differs in female versus male faces. The sex difference was not simply because aggression is a gendered construct; the relationships between masculinity/femininity and nurturing were similar for male and female faces even though nurturing is also a gendered construct. Masculinity and femininity ratings are not associated with aggression ratings nor with the face ratio for female faces. In contrast, all four variables are highly inter-correlated in male faces, likely because these cues in male faces serve as "honest signals".

Facing aggression: cues differ for female versus male faces.

Science.gov (United States)

Geniole, Shawn N; Keyes, Amanda E; Mondloch, Catherine J; Carré, Justin M; McCormick, Cheryl M

2012-01-01

The facial width-to-height ratio (face ratio), is a sexually dimorphic metric associated with actual aggression in men and with observers' judgements of aggression in male faces. Here, we sought to determine if observers' judgements of aggression were associated with the face ratio in female faces. In three studies, participants rated photographs of female and male faces on aggression, femininity, masculinity, attractiveness, and nurturing. In Studies 1 and 2, for female and male faces, judgements of aggression were associated with the face ratio even when other cues in the face related to masculinity were controlled statistically. Nevertheless, correlations between the face ratio and judgements of aggression were smaller for female than for male faces (F(1,36) = 7.43, p = 0.01). In Study 1, there was no significant relationship between judgements of femininity and of aggression in female faces. In Study 2, the association between judgements of masculinity and aggression was weaker in female faces than for male faces in Study 1. The weaker association in female faces may be because aggression and masculinity are stereotypically male traits. Thus, in Study 3, observers rated faces on nurturing (a stereotypically female trait) and on femininity. Judgements of nurturing were associated with femininity (positively) and masculinity (negatively) ratings in both female and male faces. In summary, the perception of aggression differs in female versus male faces. The sex difference was not simply because aggression is a gendered construct; the relationships between masculinity/femininity and nurturing were similar for male and female faces even though nurturing is also a gendered construct. Masculinity and femininity ratings are not associated with aggression ratings nor with the face ratio for female faces. In contrast, all four variables are highly inter-correlated in male faces, likely because these cues in male faces serve as "honest signals".

Facing Aggression: Cues Differ for Female versus Male Faces

Science.gov (United States)

Geniole, Shawn N.; Keyes, Amanda E.; Mondloch, Catherine J.; Carré, Justin M.; McCormick, Cheryl M.

2012-01-01

The facial width-to-height ratio (face ratio), is a sexually dimorphic metric associated with actual aggression in men and with observers' judgements of aggression in male faces. Here, we sought to determine if observers' judgements of aggression were associated with the face ratio in female faces. In three studies, participants rated photographs of female and male faces on aggression, femininity, masculinity, attractiveness, and nurturing. In Studies 1 and 2, for female and male faces, judgements of aggression were associated with the face ratio even when other cues in the face related to masculinity were controlled statistically. Nevertheless, correlations between the face ratio and judgements of aggression were smaller for female than for male faces (F1,36 = 7.43, p = 0.01). In Study 1, there was no significant relationship between judgements of femininity and of aggression in female faces. In Study 2, the association between judgements of masculinity and aggression was weaker in female faces than for male faces in Study 1. The weaker association in female faces may be because aggression and masculinity are stereotypically male traits. Thus, in Study 3, observers rated faces on nurturing (a stereotypically female trait) and on femininity. Judgements of nurturing were associated with femininity (positively) and masculinity (negatively) ratings in both female and male faces. In summary, the perception of aggression differs in female versus male faces. The sex difference was not simply because aggression is a gendered construct; the relationships between masculinity/femininity and nurturing were similar for male and female faces even though nurturing is also a gendered construct. Masculinity and femininity ratings are not associated with aggression ratings nor with the face ratio for female faces. In contrast, all four variables are highly inter-correlated in male faces, likely because these cues in male faces serve as “honest signals”. PMID:22276184

Effects of Face-to-Face and Computer-Mediated Constructive Controversy on Social Interdependence, Motivation, and Achievement

Science.gov (United States)

Roseth, Cary J.; Saltarelli, Andy J.; Glass, Chris R.

2011-01-01

Cooperative learning capitalizes on the relational processes by which peers promote learning, yet it remains unclear whether these processes operate similarly in face-to-face and online settings. This study addresses this issue by comparing face-to-face and computer-mediated versions of "constructive controversy", a cooperative learning procedure…

Illumination robust face recognition using spatial adaptive shadow compensation based on face intensity prior

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Cheng-Ta; Huang, Kae-Horng; Lee, Chang-Hsing; Han, Chin-Chuan; Fan, Kuo-Chin

2017-12-01

Robust face recognition under illumination variations is an important and challenging task in a face recognition system, particularly for face recognition in the wild. In this paper, a face image preprocessing approach, called spatial adaptive shadow compensation (SASC), is proposed to eliminate shadows in the face image due to different lighting directions. First, spatial adaptive histogram equalization (SAHE), which uses face intensity prior model, is proposed to enhance the contrast of each local face region without generating visible noises in smooth face areas. Adaptive shadow compensation (ASC), which performs shadow compensation in each local image block, is then used to produce a wellcompensated face image appropriate for face feature extraction and recognition. Finally, null-space linear discriminant analysis (NLDA) is employed to extract discriminant features from SASC compensated images. Experiments performed on the Yale B, Yale B extended, and CMU PIE face databases have shown that the proposed SASC always yields the best face recognition accuracy. That is, SASC is more robust to face recognition under illumination variations than other shadow compensation approaches.

Web-based versus face-to-face interprofessional team encounters with standardized patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Lempicki, Kelly A; Holland, Christine S

2018-03-01

Challenges exist in developing interprofessional education (IPE) activities including coordinating schedules and obtaining appropriate space for teams to work. Virtual worlds have been explored as a means to overcome some of these challenges. We sought to develop a web-based interprofessional team interaction with a standardized patient (SP), as compared to a face-to-face SP interaction, focusing on the competency area of interprofessional communication. Interprofessional teams of students were randomized to complete a web-based or face-to-face SP encounter. The web-based encounter was conducted via video conference that students accessed using their own electronic device. Interprofessional communication was evaluated by faculty observers and the SPs. Participants of the web-based encounter also completed a perceptions questionnaire. Interprofessional communication was rated as average/above average by the authors and SPs. Perceptions of the web-based encounter were mixed with not all students willing to complete such an encounter again despite finding it enjoyable and a positive learning experience. The need for adequate preparation was identified, including the opportunity to review the patient case before the encounter. The web-based SP encounter afforded students the opportunity to utilize communication technology to provide patient-centered care while collaborating as an interprofessional team. Video conferencing presents an opportunity to bypass some logistical challenges in scheduling IPE experiences and can be implemented as a co-curricular activity, avoiding course revisions. Additional studies are needed to further explore student and patient perspectives and clarify when, and with what level of trainees, the experiences are most valuable. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Challenges when electricity markets face the investment phase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finon, Dominique; Johnsen, Tor Arnt; Midttun, Atle

2004-01-01

Deregulation of electricity industry in Europe has tended to start with a grace period of energy surplus inherited from the previously expansive coordinated economies and further amplified by better resource utilisation from extended international trade. The regulatory challenge has therefore primarily been to allocate existing generation to consumers in an efficient way. However, as energy demand increases, due to economic growth, the challenge of providing new capacity surfaces. The Nordic region, which has been a pioneer in internationalising and deregulating electricity, is now approaching this stage, ahead of most of the rest of Europe. While the Nordic case is characterised by specificities related to hydropower it also raises the more general challenge of capacity expansion under a deregulated market economy. The article therefore discusses how the Nordic investment challenges of today shed light on more generic challenges that may become more general European challenges of tomorrow. In a final section, the article discusses policy options available to address the investment/price-hike challenge. The argument is put forward that recursion to some degree of coordinated governance might seem necessary if solutions are confined within large-scale technical systems. However, within the context of a small-scale decentralised technological development, one may be more confident of competitive solutions. (Author)

Learning Race from Face: A Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Siyao; He, Haibo; Hou, Zeng-Guang

2014-12-01

Faces convey a wealth of social signals, including race, expression, identity, age and gender, all of which have attracted increasing attention from multi-disciplinary research, such as psychology, neuroscience, computer science, to name a few. Gleaned from recent advances in computer vision, computer graphics, and machine learning, computational intelligence based racial face analysis has been particularly popular due to its significant potential and broader impacts in extensive real-world applications, such as security and defense, surveillance, human computer interface (HCI), biometric-based identification, among others. These studies raise an important question: How implicit, non-declarative racial category can be conceptually modeled and quantitatively inferred from the face? Nevertheless, race classification is challenging due to its ambiguity and complexity depending on context and criteria. To address this challenge, recently, significant efforts have been reported toward race detection and categorization in the community. This survey provides a comprehensive and critical review of the state-of-the-art advances in face-race perception, principles, algorithms, and applications. We first discuss race perception problem formulation and motivation, while highlighting the conceptual potentials of racial face processing. Next, taxonomy of feature representational models, algorithms, performance and racial databases are presented with systematic discussions within the unified learning scenario. Finally, in order to stimulate future research in this field, we also highlight the major opportunities and challenges, as well as potentially important cross-cutting themes and research directions for the issue of learning race from face.

Sanitation challenges of the poor in urban and rural settings: Case studies of Bengaluru City and rural North Karnataka

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Seshaiah, Manasi; Nagesh, Latha; Ramesh, Hemalatha

2017-01-01

Bengaluru city faces severe challenges in providing sanitation infrastructure for the urban poor. Similarly, we have villages in North Karnataka that encounter problems of toilet access and related challenges. This paper addresses concerns both in city and rural contexts. We surveyed 400 respondents

Mapping face recognition information use across cultures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sébastien eMiellet

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Face recognition is not rooted in a universal eye movement information-gathering strategy. Western observers favor a local facial feature sampling strategy, whereas Eastern observers prefer sampling face information from a global, central fixation strategy. Yet, the precise qualitative (the diagnostic and quantitative (the amount information underlying these cultural perceptual biases in face recognition remains undetermined.To this end, we monitored the eye movements of Western and Eastern observers during a face recognition task, with a novel gaze-contingent technique: the Expanding Spotlight. We used 2° Gaussian apertures centered on the observers' fixations expanding dynamically at a rate of 1° every 25ms at each fixation - the longer the fixation duration, the larger the aperture size. Identity-specific face information was only displayed within the Gaussian aperture; outside the aperture, an average face template was displayed to facilitate saccade planning. Thus, the Expanding Spotlight simultaneously maps out the facial information span at each fixation location.Data obtained with the Expanding Spotlight technique confirmed that Westerners extract more information from the eye region, whereas Easterners extract more information from the nose region. Interestingly, this quantitative difference was paired with a qualitative disparity. Retinal filters based on spatial frequency decomposition built from the fixations maps revealed that Westerners used local high-spatial frequency information sampling, covering all the features critical for effective face recognition (the eyes and the mouth. In contrast, Easterners achieved a similar result by using global low-spatial frequency information from those facial features.Our data show that the face system flexibly engages into local or global eye movement strategies across cultures, by relying on distinct facial information span and culturally tuned spatially filtered information. Overall, our

Challenges of Virtual School Leadership

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Jayson W.; LaFrance, Jason; Beck, Dennis

2015-01-01

The purpose of this case study was to examine challenges faced by virtual school leaders in the United States. Through semistructured interviews, the researchers explored challenges faced by eighteen leaders of fully online or blended online programs. Analysis revealed six main challenges: funding, staff, accountability, time, parents, and…

Female Faculty: Challenges and Choices in the United States and Beyond

Science.gov (United States)

Samble, Jennifer N.

2008-01-01

Substantial amounts of research and data detail the challenges female faculty face in the academy. These include unequal pay for similarly situated individuals, disparities between female representation within the professoriate and student population, and perceptions and accepted modes of behavior that have the effect of disenfranchising women as…

Knowledge Production and Transmission in a Changing Society: Challenges Facing Law Lecturers in a Distance Education Environment in South Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Susan

2006-01-01

In this article I highlight the challenges facing a law lecturer in a multicultural society in transformation where the student is being prepared to serve society in different occupational fields as a professional person. I indicate that the law itself cannot effect change. For this we need properly trained lawyers. For an effective transformation…

Challenges facing the advertising world in the digital era :  A comparison between Dutch and Swedish advertising agencies

OpenAIRE

Rozenveld, Marc; Heinonen, Tapio

2013-01-01

Date: June 7th of 2013 Level: Master thesis in marketing, 15 ECTS Institution: School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors: Tapio Heinonen & Marc Rozenveld 18 thof November 1988 & 16th of June 1990 Title: Challenges facing the advertising world in the digital era. Subtitle: A comparison between Dutch and Swedish advertising agencies. Tutor: Peter Selegård Keywords: media logic, advertising industry, advertising agencies, advertising and digital ma...

Is beauty in the face of the beholder?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Laeng

Full Text Available Opposing forces influence assortative mating so that one seeks a similar mate while at the same time avoiding inbreeding with close relatives. Thus, mate choice may be a balancing of phenotypic similarity and dissimilarity between partners. In the present study, we assessed the role of resemblance to Self's facial traits in judgments of physical attractiveness. Participants chose the most attractive face image of their romantic partner among several variants, where the faces were morphed so as to include only 22% of another face. Participants distinctly preferred a "Self-based morph" (i.e., their partner's face with a small amount of Self's face blended into it to other morphed images. The Self-based morph was also preferred to the morph of their partner's face blended with the partner's same-sex "prototype", although the latter face was ("objectively" judged more attractive by other individuals. When ranking morphs differing in level of amalgamation (i.e., 11% vs. 22% vs. 33% of another face, the 22% was chosen consistently as the preferred morph and, in particular, when Self was blended in the partner's face. A forced-choice signal-detection paradigm showed that the effect of self-resemblance operated at an unconscious level, since the same participants were unable to detect the presence of their own faces in the above morphs. We concluded that individuals, if given the opportunity, seek to promote "positive assortment" for Self's phenotype, especially when the level of similarity approaches an optimal point that is similar to Self without causing a conscious acknowledgment of the similarity.

Robust online face tracking-by-detection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Comaschi, F.; Stuijk, S.; Basten, T.; Corporaal, H.

2016-01-01

The problem of online face tracking from unconstrained videos is still unresolved. Challenges range from coping with severe online appearance variations to coping with occlusion. We propose RFTD (Robust Face Tracking-by-Detection), a system which combines tracking and detection into a single

In Pursuit of Ethical Research: Studying Hybrid Communities Using Online and Face-to-Face Communications

Science.gov (United States)

Busher, Hugh; James, Nalita

2015-01-01

Hybrid communities using online and face-to-face communications to construct their practices are increasingly part of everyday life amongst people who have easy access to the internet. Researching these communities raises a number of challenges for researchers in the pursuit of ethical research. The paper begins by exploring what is understood by…

A specialized face-processing model inspired by the organization of monkey face patches explains several face-specific phenomena observed in humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Farzmahdi, Amirhossein; Rajaei, Karim; Ghodrati, Masoud; Ebrahimpour, Reza; Khaligh-Razavi, Seyed-Mahdi

2016-04-26

Converging reports indicate that face images are processed through specialized neural networks in the brain -i.e. face patches in monkeys and the fusiform face area (FFA) in humans. These studies were designed to find out how faces are processed in visual system compared to other objects. Yet, the underlying mechanism of face processing is not completely revealed. Here, we show that a hierarchical computational model, inspired by electrophysiological evidence on face processing in primates, is able to generate representational properties similar to those observed in monkey face patches (posterior, middle and anterior patches). Since the most important goal of sensory neuroscience is linking the neural responses with behavioral outputs, we test whether the proposed model, which is designed to account for neural responses in monkey face patches, is also able to predict well-documented behavioral face phenomena observed in humans. We show that the proposed model satisfies several cognitive face effects such as: composite face effect and the idea of canonical face views. Our model provides insights about the underlying computations that transfer visual information from posterior to anterior face patches.

Are reading and face processing related?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Starrfelt, Randi; Klargaard, Solja K.; Petersen, Anders

Traditionally, perceptual processing of faces and words is considered highly specialized, strongly lateralized, and largely independent. This has, however, recently been challenged by studies showing that learning to read may affect the perceptual and neural processes involved in face recognition......, reflected in better overall accuracy, a lower perceptual threshold, and higher processing speed for words compared to letters. In sum, we find no evidence that reading skills are abnormal in developmental prosopagnosia, a finding that may challenge the recently proposed hypothesis that reading development...

Implicit Race Bias Decreases the Similarity of Neural Representations of Black and White Faces

OpenAIRE

Brosch, Tobias; Bar-David, Eyal; Phelps, Elizabeth A.

2013-01-01

Implicit race bias has been shown to affect decisions and behaviors. It may also change perceptual experience by increasing perceived differences between social groups. We investigated how this phenomenon may be expressed at the neural level by testing whether the distributed blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) patterns representing Black and White faces are more dissimilar in participants with higher implicit race bias. We used multivoxel pattern analysis to predict the race of faces pa...

Is having similar eye movement patterns during face learning and recognition beneficial for recognition performance? Evidence from hidden Markov modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Chuk, Tim; Chan, Antoni B; Hsiao, Janet H

2017-12-01

The hidden Markov model (HMM)-based approach for eye movement analysis is able to reflect individual differences in both spatial and temporal aspects of eye movements. Here we used this approach to understand the relationship between eye movements during face learning and recognition, and its association with recognition performance. We discovered holistic (i.e., mainly looking at the face center) and analytic (i.e., specifically looking at the two eyes in addition to the face center) patterns during both learning and recognition. Although for both learning and recognition, participants who adopted analytic patterns had better recognition performance than those with holistic patterns, a significant positive correlation between the likelihood of participants' patterns being classified as analytic and their recognition performance was only observed during recognition. Significantly more participants adopted holistic patterns during learning than recognition. Interestingly, about 40% of the participants used different patterns between learning and recognition, and among them 90% switched their patterns from holistic at learning to analytic at recognition. In contrast to the scan path theory, which posits that eye movements during learning have to be recapitulated during recognition for the recognition to be successful, participants who used the same or different patterns during learning and recognition did not differ in recognition performance. The similarity between their learning and recognition eye movement patterns also did not correlate with their recognition performance. These findings suggested that perceptuomotor memory elicited by eye movement patterns during learning does not play an important role in recognition. In contrast, the retrieval of diagnostic information for recognition, such as the eyes for face recognition, is a better predictor for recognition performance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Political challenges facing the consolidation of the Sistema Único de Saúde: a historical approach].

Science.gov (United States)

Rodrigues, Paulo Henrique de Almeida

2014-01-01

This article investigates the circumstances in which Brazil’s sanitation reform was conceived and the Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) was constructed. A brief analysis is conducted of Brazil’s political transition to democracy, focusing on three political challenges facing the consolidation of SUS: its weak support base amongst workers, competition with the private sector, and the fragmentation of its administration caused by its municipalization. Finally, the changes in the scenario caused by the weakening of neoliberalism since the 2008 crisis, the reemergence of a multipolar political scenario internationally, and the financing conditions of the Brazilian State are described.

Face recognition increases during saccade preparation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Hai; Rizak, Joshua D; Ma, Yuan-ye; Yang, Shang-chuan; Chen, Lin; Hu, Xin-tian

2014-01-01

Face perception is integral to human perception system as it underlies social interactions. Saccadic eye movements are frequently made to bring interesting visual information, such as faces, onto the fovea for detailed processing. Just before eye movement onset, the processing of some basic features, such as the orientation, of an object improves at the saccade landing point. Interestingly, there is also evidence that indicates faces are processed in early visual processing stages similar to basic features. However, it is not known whether this early enhancement of processing includes face recognition. In this study, three experiments were performed to map the timing of face presentation to the beginning of the eye movement in order to evaluate pre-saccadic face recognition. Faces were found to be similarly processed as simple objects immediately prior to saccadic movements. Starting ∼ 120 ms before a saccade to a target face, independent of whether or not the face was surrounded by other faces, the face recognition gradually improved and the critical spacing of the crowding decreased as saccade onset was approaching. These results suggest that an upcoming saccade prepares the visual system for new information about faces at the saccade landing site and may reduce the background in a crowd to target the intended face. This indicates an important role of pre-saccadic eye movement signals in human face recognition.

Voxel Size, Dependent Measures, Or Similarity to Faces? Review and Comparison of various Possibilities on Explaining the Mixed FFA-Expertise Correlation Results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chun-Chia Kung

2011-05-01

Full Text Available One of the unsolved debates in imaging neuroscience is whether the fusiform face area, or FFA, is specific to faces or also to the objects of expertise category. The extant literature shows that more studies reporting failures of finding significant expertise-FFA correlations, seemingly supportive of the face specificity hypothesis of FFA. However, systematic comparisons of these literature suggest that at least part of the reasons might be due to the inter-study differences on voxel size differences (3×3×7 vs. 3×3×3 mm3, for example, various dependent measures (e.g, summed t-scores vs. beta coefficients, and different indices of measures, such as [Birds minus Objects] vs. [Birds vs. Cars], or similarity of expertise stimuli (e.g., Greebles vs. birds/cars to faces. All these differences have yet to be systematically compared, and in this study we re-analyzed two lab-owned dataset (one has been found a positive and significant FFA-expertise correlation, another not by resampling into 3 different voxel sizes (3×3×3, 3×3×5, and 3×3×7 mm3, with 3 dependent measures (summed-t, beta, and percent signal changes. Our results suggest that one should always list, and hopefully examine, all the possible source of variations before final conclusion.

The Kent Face Matching Test.

Science.gov (United States)

Fysh, Matthew C; Bindemann, Markus

2018-05-01

This study presents the Kent Face Matching Test (KFMT), which comprises 200 same-identity and 20 different-identity pairs of unfamiliar faces. Each face pair consists of a photograph from a student ID card and a high-quality portrait that was taken at least three months later. The test is designed to complement existing resources for face-matching research, by providing a more ecologically valid stimulus set that captures the natural variability that can arise in a person's appearance over time. Two experiments are presented to demonstrate that the KFMT provides a challenging measure of face matching but correlates with established tests. Experiment 1 compares a short version of this test with the optimized Glasgow Face Matching Test (GFMT). In Experiment 2, a longer version of the KFMT, with infrequent identity mismatches, is correlated with performance on the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT) and the Cambridge Face Perception Test (CFPT). The KFMT is freely available for use in face-matching research. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Unconventional combinations of prospective parents: ethical challenges faced by IVF providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Klitzman, Robert

2017-02-28

Professional guidelines have addressed ethical dilemmas posed by a few types of nontraditional procreative arrangements (e.g., gamete donations between family members), but many questions arise regarding how providers view and make decisions about these and other such arrangements. Thirty-seven ART providers and 10 patients were interviewed in-depth for approximately 1 h each. Interviews were systematically analyzed. Providers faced a range of challenges and ethical dilemmas concerning both the content and the process of decisions about requests for unconventional interfamilial and other reproductive combinations. Providers vary in how they respond - what they decide, who exactly decides (e.g., an ethics committee or not), and how - often undergoing complex decision-making processes. These combinations can involve creating or raising the child, and can shift over time - from initial ART treatment through to the child's birth. Patients' requests can vary from fully established to mere possibilities. Arrangements may also be unstable, fluid, or unexpected, posing challenges. Difficulties emerge concerning not only familial but social, combinations (e.g., between friends). These arrangements can involve blurry and confusing roles, questions about the welfare of the unborn child, and unanticipated and unfamiliar questions about how to weigh competing moral and scientific concerns - e.g., the autonomy of the individuals involved, and the potential risks and benefits. Clinicians may feel that these requests do not "smell right"; and at first respond with feelings of "yuck," and only later, carefully and explicitly consider the ethical principles involved. Proposed arrangements may, for instance, initially be felt to involve consanguineous individuals, but not in fact do so. Obtaining and verifying full and appropriate informed consent can be difficult, given implicit familial and/or cultural expectations and senses of duty. Social attitudes are changing, yet patients

THE CHALLENGES FACED BY THE MALE GENDER EXECUTIVE SECRETARY PROFESSIONAL IN CONTEMPORARY ORGANIZATIONS

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Conceição de Maria Pinheiro Barros

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The Professional Executive Secretary has been occupying space increasingly evident in the labor market and organizational structure, both because of market demand, the needs of dynamism in the modern administration that demonstrates the growth of the reference to it. It has sought in his field vision and attitude of performance excellence with fulfilling its role with its own characteristics. This study aims to investigate the general challenges for the Executive Secretariat professional male in contemporary organizations. We defined the following objectives: to analyze the insertion of the male in the profession of Executive Secretary and identify the challenges faced by the Executive Secretary of the males to their development and professional growth. To this end, we performed a literature search, followed by a field survey. It is a qualitative research because data collected, and then make a qualitative analysis of results from selected literature. The survey was conducted in organizations from the public and private, state of Ceará. The sample was represented by professional male graduates in the executive secretariat at the Federal University of Ceará and working in the area. After analyzing the data it was concluded that despite the obstacles to be overcome, the tendency is that these opportunities work for the professional male grow, requiring that all actors in the field to seek gender equity in the profession.

Press freedom, oil exports, and risk for natural disasters: a challenge for climato-economic theory?

Science.gov (United States)

Arantes, Joana; Grace, Randolph C; Kemp, Simon

2013-10-01

Does the interaction between climactic demands, monetary resources, and freedom suggest a more general relationship between the environmental challenges that human societies face and their resources to meet those challenges? Using data on press freedom (Van de Vliert 2011a), we found no evidence of a similar interaction with natural resources (as measured by oil exports) or risk for natural disasters.

Parent Education for Dialogic Reading: Online and Face-to-Face Delivery Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Beschorner, Beth; Hutchison, Amy

2016-01-01

This study explored the impact of a parent education program and the contextual factors that influenced the experiences of families in the program. Seventeen parents completed a 9-week, face-to-face program and 15 parents completed a similar online program. This study was designed as a multiple case study and utilized multimethods for data…

Comparing Role-Playing Activities in Second Life and Face-to-Face Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Fei; Noh, Jeongmin J.; Koehler, Matthew J.

2009-01-01

This study compared student performances in role-playing activities in both a face-to-face (FTF) environment and a virtual 3D environment, Second Life (SL). We found that students produced a similar amount of communication in the two environments, but the communication styles were different. In SL role-playing activities, students took more…

Big Data Challenges for Large Radio Arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Dayton L.; Wagstaff, Kiri; Thompson, David; D'Addario, Larry; Navarro, Robert; Mattmann, Chris; Majid, Walid; Lazio, Joseph; Preston, Robert; Rebbapragada, Umaa

2012-01-01

Future large radio astronomy arrays, particularly the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), will be able to generate data at rates far higher than can be analyzed or stored affordably with current practices. This is, by definition, a "big data" problem, and requires an end-to-end solution if future radio arrays are to reach their full scientific potential. Similar data processing, transport, storage, and management challenges face next-generation facilities in many other fields.

Recurrent subcutaneous emphysema of the face: a challenging clinical problem.

Science.gov (United States)

Hojjati, Hossein; Davani, Sam Zeraatian Nejad; Johari, Hamed Ghoddusi

2007-01-01

In the neck or face, there are different causes for subcutaneous emphysema such as injury to the sinuses, the hypopharynx, the laryngotracheal complex, the pulmonary parenchyma, the esophagus or the presence of gas-forming organisms. However, factitious subcutaneous emphysema, a rare cause, must be considered in the differential diagnosis. In this clinical report, we discuss a 20-year-old girl who was under follow-up because of recurrent subcutaneous emphysema of the face and periorbital area. After 2 years of work-ups, including a period of close observation in the intensive care unit, self air injection by syringe was found as the cause of recurrent subcutaneous emphysema of the face, and the patient was labeled as having factitious recurrent subcutaneous emphysema. Therefore, when a patient presents with unexplained recurrent subcutaneous emphysema, one should suspect self-infliction and examine for puncture marks.

The challenges that parents of children with epilepsy face: A qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kampra, Matina; Tzerakis, Nikolaos; Lund Holm Thomsen, Louise; Katsarou, Efstathia; Voudris, Konstantinos; D Mastroyianni, Sotiria; Mouskou, Stella; Drossou, Kyriaki S; Siatouni, Anna; Gatzonis, Stylianos

2017-06-01

This qualitative study explored the challenges that Greek parents/caregivers of children with controlled epilepsy (CwE) face regarding the disorder. Interviews were conducted based on open-ended questions guided by a review of the literature. A total of 91 parents/caregivers were recruited by neurologists at the neurology clinics of two Athens public hospitals. A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used to explore parent/caregiver experiences. The data were grouped and analyzed through a textual interpretation. Two key challenges were identified for parents of CwE: the disclosure of epilepsy and the absence of adequate information about coping with epilepsy. Parents in Greece were hesitant to reveal their child's epilepsy to school staff and their wider social milieu. Also, although satisfied with the patient-centered approach they experienced with their hospital doctor, parents/caregivers found that they needed more education about the existing sources of psychosocial and emotional support to cope with their child's epilepsy personally and as a family. Finally, the parents/caregivers who let their child know about the epilepsy and discussed the implications with the child found that parent-child communication improved. This study provides valuable insight into the impact of epilepsy on parents of CwE, which might help hospital and school staff support families with greater understanding, sensitivity, and skill. The findings suggest that Greek authorities should staff hospitals and schools with experts and more systematically advertise sources of information about epilepsy and ways to cope with it. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

21st century challenges faced by nursing faculty in educating for compassionate practice: embodied interpretation of phenomenological data.

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, Katherine

2013-07-01

Nursing faculty are facing challenges in facilitating student learning of complex concepts such as compassionate practice. Compassion is a stated expectation of Registered Nurse (RN) and student nurse practice, and yet how it is enabled and learned within the challenging environments of university and health service provider organisations are not yet understood. There is currently an international concern that student nurses are not being adequately prepared for compassion to flourish and for compassionate practice to be sustained upon professional qualification. In order to investigate the experiences of nursing faculty in their preparation of student nurses for compassionate practice, an exploratory aesthetic phenomenological research study was undertaken using in depth interviews with five nurse teachers in the North of England. Findings from this study were analysed and presented using embodied interpretation, and indicate that nurse teachers recognise the importance of the professional ideal of compassionate practice alongside specific challenges this expectation presents. They have concerns about how the economically constrained and target driven practice reality faced by RNs promotes compassionate practice, and that students are left feeling vulnerable to dissonance between learned professional ideals and the RNs' practice reality they witness. Nurse teachers also experience dissonance within the university setting, between the pressures of managing large student groups and the time and opportunity required for small group discussion with students that enables compassion to develop in a meaningful and emotionally sustainable way. Teachers also express discomfort due to a perceived promotion of an 'unachievable utopia' within practice, identifying how the constraints within practice could be better managed to support professional ideals. The nurse teachers within this exploratory study identify the need for strong nurse leadership in practice to challenge

MARKETING CHALLENGES FOR SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC SECTOR BUSINESS INCUBATOR

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Donaldson Walter James

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Entrepreneurship and innovation form the cornerstone of economic development in many developing countries. Through this, rather ideal combination employment can be enhanced, communities can be uplifted through education, and growth can be increased through discretionary purchasing power. This cycle has positive spinoffs which can alleviate poverty and decrease famine. Recent local research suggests that more than eighty percent of entrepreneurs, start-ups and Business ‘Incubatees’ don’t make it through their first year of establishment after leaving a Business Incubator programme. This paper tries to identify some of the marketing challenges faced by Business Incubators, and indeed BIMs in the Public Sector environment in South Africa. Identification and highlighting the possible drawbacks for ‘incubatees’ may assist them with success or meeting competitive challenges when they depart from the security of the relevant programmes. This study examines some of the skills, knowledge and attributes required for BIMs in this sector and what is required to meet the business and marketing challenges faced to remain sustainable. The survey was aimed at the largest, focused segment of South African Business Incubators affiliated to the industrial public sector and the hypothesis was to prove that strategic marketing information, acumen and knowledge is a key differentiator towards the growth and sustainability of Business Incubators in that sector. It is notable that these marketing challenges may also compare favourably with several other public sector segments in relevant countries of the southern African region as similar macroeconomic challenges are faced.

Simple thermal to thermal face verification method based on local texture descriptors

Science.gov (United States)

Grudzien, A.; Palka, Norbert; Kowalski, M.

2017-08-01

Biometrics is a science that studies and analyzes physical structure of a human body and behaviour of people. Biometrics found many applications ranging from border control systems, forensics systems for criminal investigations to systems for access control. Unique identifiers, also referred to as modalities are used to distinguish individuals. One of the most common and natural human identifiers is a face. As a result of decades of investigations, face recognition achieved high level of maturity, however recognition in visible spectrum is still challenging due to illumination aspects or new ways of spoofing. One of the alternatives is recognition of face in different parts of light spectrum, e.g. in infrared spectrum. Thermal infrared offer new possibilities for human recognition due to its specific properties as well as mature equipment. In this paper we present the scheme of subject's verification methodology by using facial images in thermal range. The study is focused on the local feature extraction methods and on the similarity metrics. We present comparison of two local texture-based descriptors for thermal 1-to-1 face recognition.

Virtual Microscopy: A Useful Tool for Meeting Evolving Challenges in the Veterinary Medical Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Kogan, Lori R.; Dowers, Kristy L.; Cerda, Jacey R.; Schoenfeld-Tacher, Regina M.; Stewart, Sherry M.

2014-01-01

Veterinary schools, similar to many professional health programs, face a myriad of evolving challenges in delivering their professional curricula including expansion of class size, costs to maintain expensive laboratories, and increased demands on veterinary educators to use curricular time efficiently and creatively. Additionally, exponential…

From Toques to Tokes: Two challenges facing nationwide legalization of cannabis in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Bear, Daniel

2017-04-01

In 2015, a new Liberal Government came to power in Canada, elected on a platform that included legalization and regulation of cannabis for recreational purposes. Their legislation, based on recommendations from a Federal Task Force on Marijuana Legalization and Regulation, is due in early April 2017. This commentary utilizes Canadian Federal policy papers, previous literature, and internal and international agreements to examine two key areas critical to the development of a nationwide regulated market for cannabis in Canada; the need to overcome restrictions to legalizing cannabis in United Nations' drug control treaties, and the unique challenges that non-medical cannabis creates for navigating interprovincial trade policies in Canada. Irrespective of UN conventions that appear to prohibit legalization of cannabis the Government is preparing to bring forward legislation as this article goes to print. At the same time significant squabbles impede the selling of even beer and wine inter-provincially in Canada. This paper identifies the challenges facing Canadian legalization efforts, but also shows how the legalization legislation may provide opportunities to engender significant change beyond the simple legalization of a specific drug. This commentary does not argue for any specific course of action for Canada, but rather explores the nuance of legalization absent from the declaration in the Liberal party platform. The paper argues that Canada's efforts may hasten the dismantling of the UN drug control structure, and provide renewed opportunities for intern-provincial trade in Canada. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Material Challenges For Plasma Facing Components in Future Fusion Reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linke, J; Pintsuk, G.; Rödig, M.

2013-01-01

Increasing attention is directed towards thermonuclear fusion as a possible future energy source. Major advantages of this energy conversion technology are the almost inexhaustible resources and the option to produce energy without CO2-emissions. However, in the most advanced field of magnetic plasma confinement a number of technological challenges have to be met. In particular high-temperature resistant and plasma compatible materials have to be developed and qualified which are able to withstand the extreme environments in a commercial thermonuclear power reactor. The plasma facing materials (PFMs) and components (PFCs) in such fusion devices, i.e. the first wall (FW), the limiters and the divertor, are strongly affected by the plasma wall interaction processes and the applied intense thermal loads during plasma operation. On the one hand, these mechanisms have a strong influence on the plasma performance; on the other hand, they have major impact on the lifetime of the plasma facing armour. In present-day and next step devices the resulting thermal steady state heat loads to the first wall remain below 1 MWm-2; the limiters and the divertor are expected to be exposed to power densities being at least one order of magnitude above the FW-level, i.e. up to 20 MWm-2 for next step tokamaks such as ITER or DEMO. These requirements are responsible for high demands on the selection of qualified PFMs and heat sink materials as well as reliable fabrication processes for actively cooled plasma facing components. The technical solutions which are considered today are mainly based on the PFMs beryllium, carbon or tungsten joined to copper alloys or stainless steel heat sinks. In addition to the above mentioned quasi-stationary heat loads, short transient thermal pulses with deposited energy densities up to several tens of MJm-2 are a serious concern for next step tokamak devices. The most frequent events are so-called Edge Localized Modes (type I ELMs) and plasma disruptions

Multi-Branch Fully Convolutional Network for Face Detection

KAUST Repository

Bai, Yancheng

2017-07-20

Face detection is a fundamental problem in computer vision. It is still a challenging task in unconstrained conditions due to significant variations in scale, pose, expressions, and occlusion. In this paper, we propose a multi-branch fully convolutional network (MB-FCN) for face detection, which considers both efficiency and effectiveness in the design process. Our MB-FCN detector can deal with faces at all scale ranges with only a single pass through the backbone network. As such, our MB-FCN model saves computation and thus is more efficient, compared to previous methods that make multiple passes. For each branch, the specific skip connections of the convolutional feature maps at different layers are exploited to represent faces in specific scale ranges. Specifically, small faces can be represented with both shallow fine-grained and deep powerful coarse features. With this representation, superior improvement in performance is registered for the task of detecting small faces. We test our MB-FCN detector on two public face detection benchmarks, including FDDB and WIDER FACE. Extensive experiments show that our detector outperforms state-of-the-art methods on all these datasets in general and by a substantial margin on the most challenging among them (e.g. WIDER FACE Hard subset). Also, MB-FCN runs at 15 FPS on a GPU for images of size 640 x 480 with no assumption on the minimum detectable face size.

Meeting the challenges of the new energy industry: The driving forces facing electric power generators and the natural gas industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1995-01-01

The proceedings of the IGT national conference on meeting the challenges of the New Energy Industry: The driving forces facing Electric Power Generators and the Natural Gas Industry are presented. The conference was held June 19-21, 1995 at the Ambassador West Hotel in Downtown Chicago, Illinois. A separate abstract and indexing for each of the 18 papers presented for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database

Meeting the challenges of the new energy industry: The driving forces facing electric power generators and the natural gas industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-12-31

The proceedings of the IGT national conference on meeting the challenges of the New Energy Industry: The driving forces facing Electric Power Generators and the Natural Gas Industry are presented. The conference was held June 19-21, 1995 at the Ambassador West Hotel in Downtown Chicago, Illinois. A separate abstract and indexing for each of the 18 papers presented for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.

View based approach to forensic face recognition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dutta, A.; van Rootseler, R.T.A.; Veldhuis, Raymond N.J.; Spreeuwers, Lieuwe Jan

Face recognition is a challenging problem for surveillance view images commonly encountered in a forensic face recognition case. One approach to deal with a non-frontal test image is to synthesize the corresponding frontal view image and compare it with frontal view reference images. However, it is

Exploring career advancement challenges people with disabilities are facing in the South African work context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ingrid L. Potgieter

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Orientation: South Africa has faced a number of discriminatory practices in the past. Most of these practices are still present today. Although a considerate amount of attention has been given to discrimination based on gender, race and religion, limited emphasis has been placed on discrimination based on disability, specifically within the workplace. Research purpose: The objective of the study was to explore the perceptions of individuals living with a disability with regards to career advancement challenges they face in the South African workplace. Motivation for study: The research literature shows that irrespective of employment equity legislation, employees with disabilities have restricted opportunities to advance in their careers. Research is needed to assist these employees with their career development. Research design, approach and method: A qualitative research design with an exploratory approach was followed. Probability, purposeful and snowballing sampling techniques were applied in this study on 15 employed individuals with declared disabilities. The data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews and the verbatim transcriptions were analysed by content analysis. Main findings/results: The findings indicated that people with disabilities generally experience career advancement challenges and reach career plateau. Managers and colleagues’ lack of knowledge about disability has an adverse impact on the careers of people living with a disability. The study found that human resource practices, especially promotion opportunities, discriminate against employees with disabilities. Furthermore, the study further indicated that there is prejudice against invisible disabilities, and as a result, employees are reluctant to declare their disability. Practical implications: Human resource practitioners and managers need to recognise the influence that disabilities have on the career advancement of individuals living with a

Face-to-face or face-to-screen? Undergraduates' opinions and test performance in classroom vs. online learning

Science.gov (United States)

Kemp, Nenagh; Grieve, Rachel

2014-01-01

As electronic communication becomes increasingly common, and as students juggle study, work, and family life, many universities are offering their students more flexible learning opportunities. Classes once delivered face-to-face are often replaced by online activities and discussions. However, there is little research comparing students' experience and learning in these two modalities. The aim of this study was to compare undergraduates' preference for, and academic performance on, class material and assessment presented online vs. in traditional classrooms. Psychology students (N = 67) at an Australian university completed written exercises, a class discussion, and a written test on two academic topics. The activities for one topic were conducted face-to-face, and the other online, with topics counterbalanced across two groups. The results showed that students preferred to complete activities face-to-face rather than online, but there was no significant difference in their test performance in the two modalities. In their written responses, students expressed a strong preference for class discussions to be conducted face-to-face, reporting that they felt more engaged, and received more immediate feedback, than in online discussion. A follow-up study with a separate group (N = 37) confirmed that although students appreciated the convenience of completing written activities online in their own time, they also strongly preferred to discuss course content with peers in the classroom rather than online. It is concluded that online and face-to-face activities can lead to similar levels of academic performance, but that students would rather do written activities online but engage in discussion in person. Course developers could aim to structure classes so that students can benefit from both the flexibility of online learning, and the greater engagement experienced in face-to-face discussion. PMID:25429276

Face-to-face or face-to-screen? Undergraduates' opinions and test performance in classroom vs. online learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Kemp, Nenagh; Grieve, Rachel

2014-01-01

As electronic communication becomes increasingly common, and as students juggle study, work, and family life, many universities are offering their students more flexible learning opportunities. Classes once delivered face-to-face are often replaced by online activities and discussions. However, there is little research comparing students' experience and learning in these two modalities. The aim of this study was to compare undergraduates' preference for, and academic performance on, class material and assessment presented online vs. in traditional classrooms. Psychology students (N = 67) at an Australian university completed written exercises, a class discussion, and a written test on two academic topics. The activities for one topic were conducted face-to-face, and the other online, with topics counterbalanced across two groups. The results showed that students preferred to complete activities face-to-face rather than online, but there was no significant difference in their test performance in the two modalities. In their written responses, students expressed a strong preference for class discussions to be conducted face-to-face, reporting that they felt more engaged, and received more immediate feedback, than in online discussion. A follow-up study with a separate group (N = 37) confirmed that although students appreciated the convenience of completing written activities online in their own time, they also strongly preferred to discuss course content with peers in the classroom rather than online. It is concluded that online and face-to-face activities can lead to similar levels of academic performance, but that students would rather do written activities online but engage in discussion in person. Course developers could aim to structure classes so that students can benefit from both the flexibility of online learning, and the greater engagement experienced in face-to-face discussion.

Interocularly merged face percepts eliminate binocular rivalry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klink, P. Christiaan; Boucherie, Daphne; Denys, Damiaan; Roelfsema, Pieter R.; Self, Matthew W.

2017-01-01

Faces are important visual objects for humans and other social animals. A complex network of specialized brain areas is involved in the recognition and interpretation of faces. This network needs to strike a balance between being sensitive enough to distinguish between different faces with similar

Algorithm Research of Individualized Travelling Route Recommendation Based on Similarity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xue Shan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Although commercial recommendation system has made certain achievement in travelling route development, the recommendation system is facing a series of challenges because of people’s increasing interest in travelling. It is obvious that the core content of the recommendation system is recommendation algorithm. The advantages of recommendation algorithm can bring great effect to the recommendation system. Based on this, this paper applies traditional collaborative filtering algorithm for analysis. Besides, illustrating the deficiencies of the algorithm, such as the rating unicity and rating matrix sparsity, this paper proposes an improved algorithm combing the multi-similarity algorithm based on user and the element similarity algorithm based on user, so as to compensate for the deficiencies that traditional algorithm has within a controllable range. Experimental results have shown that the improved algorithm has obvious advantages in comparison with the traditional one. The improved algorithm has obvious effect on remedying the rating matrix sparsity and rating unicity.

Challenges, opportunities and trends in engineering education

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosen, M.A.

2005-01-01

Many challenges and opportunities face the engineering profession and engineering education. The engineering profession advances best if challenges are properly addressed, opportunities beneficially exploited and reasoned speculation made on future trends. In this article, the author presents his views on some of the challenges and opportunities facing the engineering education, and possible future trends, with the objective of fostering continued discussion of and action on these issues. This topic is of great importance because the development of engineering education is strongly influenced by the challenges and opportunities it faces and how it responds, and by anticipated future trends. (author)

A personal perspective on challenges that face women scientists

Science.gov (United States)

Cashman, Katharine

2016-04-01

Gender equality has been a topic of discussion throughout my long (now three decade) career. This alone illustrates the complex nature of the issue, and the lack of a simple solution, particularly as many of the daily challenges that women face are institution or discipline-specific. For this reason, I will summarize some of the issues that appear to me to be more general, and therefore ones that may have general solutions. The first and foremost relates to demands on women's time. One way that academic institutions have sought to overcome gender bias has been to require that every university committee have a female member; in departments, schools and faculties where women represent a minority, this necessarily means that women shoulder an inequitable share of the service duties. I have experienced this myself, seen it in promotion files at all levels, and observed it with regard to my female colleagues. Clearly time spent doing service is time not spent doing science. There is also an easy solution to this problem, which is to re-think the underlying assumption that men are necessarily gender-biased if they don't have a woman sitting in the room! Additional time demands can come from informal mentoring of both students and younger colleagues, particularly in cases where senior male colleagues are viewed as too important, or too intimidating, to be consulted on personal issues. Although I suspect that this problem may also be widespread, it is more difficult to quantify, and is therefore more difficult to factor into time allotments of departmental duties. A final thought relates to hiring practices. I have now worked in both the US and UK educational systems, which have very different interview and hiring protocols. I will review both, highlighting components that I think are most likely to promote equitable hiring practices.

Organisational, technological and economic innovations: the nuclear industry reinvents itself to face 2030 challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faudon, Valerie; Jouette, Isabelle; Le Ngoc, Boris

2016-06-01

As the French nuclear industry is facing a major challenge (financial weakness, an electric power market in crisis, 15 years without building any reactor, delayed works), this report first outlines why innovation is necessary to guarantee a low carbon and competitive electricity, to comfort the leadership position of this sector in the world, and to respond to expectations of civil society. Then, it describes how the French nuclear industry is already implementing organisational, technological and social innovations, notably through the development of digital technologies. The third part identifies priorities of new public policies: to imagine a new business model for nuclear (a better visibility for investors, taking all induced costs in the power system into account in a diversified mix, reform of the carbon market, taking avoided atmospheric pollution into account), to rethink regulation in order to free innovation spirit, and to prepare the future by investing in research

Intercultural challenges in offshore software development outsourcing relationship: an empirical study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, S.U.; Azeem, M.I.

2016-01-01

The importance of intercultural challenges is recognized by both the practitioners and researchers in offshore software development outsourcing (OSDO) relationships. These challenges affect almost all the activities involved in offshore software development outsourcing relationships especially communication, mutual understanding, interpretation and decision making processes etc. which in turn leads to project failure. In our previous published study we identified, through systematic literature review (SLR), various intercultural challenges faced by vendors in OSDO relationship. The aim of this study was to validate these findings through industry practitioners and to identify its intensity as well as to identify any other intercultural challenges, faced by vendor organizations in OSDO relationships. We performed questionnaire surveys with 41 experts from different software companies. A seven point likert scale was used to determine the significance of each intercultural challenge. Our findings indicate that all the intercultural challenges are critical for OSDO vendors. We further analyzed these challenges based on different variables, such as company size, company type, expert's job/position etc. We have identified that there is no significant difference in the intercultural challenges based on company type and expert's experience level. We identified that language and language proficiency is the most commonly agreed and difference in social behavior is the most commonly disagreed intercultural challenge in the category of both sizes of company. Similarly language and language proficiency is the most commonly agreed challenge based on experts job positions. (author)

The contribution of youth work to address the challenges young people are facing, in particular the transition from education to employment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Louw, Arnt Vestergaard

The findings of the expert group detail the role of youth work and its specific contribution to addressing the challenges young people face, in particular the transition from education to employment. In this context, youth work is defined as 'actions directed towards young people regarding activi...... activities where they take part voluntarily, designed for supporting their personal and social development through non-formal and informal learning'....

Vitality Detection in Face Images using Second Order Gradient

OpenAIRE

Aruni Singh

2012-01-01

Spoofing is a very big challenge in biometrics, specially in face image. So many artificial techniques are available to tamper or hide the original face. To ensure the actual presence of live face image in contrast to fake face image this research has been contributed. The intended purpose of proposed approach is also to endorse the biometric authentication, by joining the liveness awareness with Facial Recognition Technology (FRT). In this research 200 dummy face images and 200 real face ima...

A survey of real face modeling methods

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiaoyue; Dai, Yugang; He, Xiangzhen; Wan, Fucheng

2017-09-01

The face model has always been a research challenge in computer graphics, which involves the coordination of multiple organs in faces. This article explained two kinds of face modeling method which is based on the data driven and based on parameter control, analyzed its content and background, summarized their advantages and disadvantages, and concluded muscle model which is based on the anatomy of the principle has higher veracity and easy to drive.

Matching faces with emotional expressions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wenfeng eChen

2011-08-01

Full Text Available There is some evidence that faces with a happy expression are recognized better than faces with other expressions. However, little is known about whether this happy face advantage also applies to perceptual face matching, and whether similar differences exist among other expressions. Using a sequential matching paradigm, we systematically compared the effects of seven basic facial expressions on identity recognition. Identity matching was quickest when a pair of faces had an identical happy/sad/neutral expression, poorer when they had a fearful/surprise/angry expression, and poorest when they had a disgust expression. Faces with a happy/sad/fear/surprise expression were matched faster than those with an anger/disgust expression when the second face in a pair had a neutral expression. These results demonstrate that effects of facial expression on identity recognition are not limited to happy faces when a learned face is immediately tested. The results suggest different influences of expression in perceptual matching and long-term recognition memory.

Face recognition accuracy of forensic examiners, superrecognizers, and face recognition algorithms.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, P Jonathon; Yates, Amy N; Hu, Ying; Hahn, Carina A; Noyes, Eilidh; Jackson, Kelsey; Cavazos, Jacqueline G; Jeckeln, Géraldine; Ranjan, Rajeev; Sankaranarayanan, Swami; Chen, Jun-Cheng; Castillo, Carlos D; Chellappa, Rama; White, David; O'Toole, Alice J

2018-05-29

Achieving the upper limits of face identification accuracy in forensic applications can minimize errors that have profound social and personal consequences. Although forensic examiners identify faces in these applications, systematic tests of their accuracy are rare. How can we achieve the most accurate face identification: using people and/or machines working alone or in collaboration? In a comprehensive comparison of face identification by humans and computers, we found that forensic facial examiners, facial reviewers, and superrecognizers were more accurate than fingerprint examiners and students on a challenging face identification test. Individual performance on the test varied widely. On the same test, four deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs), developed between 2015 and 2017, identified faces within the range of human accuracy. Accuracy of the algorithms increased steadily over time, with the most recent DCNN scoring above the median of the forensic facial examiners. Using crowd-sourcing methods, we fused the judgments of multiple forensic facial examiners by averaging their rating-based identity judgments. Accuracy was substantially better for fused judgments than for individuals working alone. Fusion also served to stabilize performance, boosting the scores of lower-performing individuals and decreasing variability. Single forensic facial examiners fused with the best algorithm were more accurate than the combination of two examiners. Therefore, collaboration among humans and between humans and machines offers tangible benefits to face identification accuracy in important applications. These results offer an evidence-based roadmap for achieving the most accurate face identification possible. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Cultural similarities and differences in perceiving and recognizing facial expressions of basic emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Xiaoqian; Andrews, Timothy J; Young, Andrew W

2016-03-01

The ability to recognize facial expressions of basic emotions is often considered a universal human ability. However, recent studies have suggested that this commonality has been overestimated and that people from different cultures use different facial signals to represent expressions (Jack, Blais, Scheepers, Schyns, & Caldara, 2009; Jack, Caldara, & Schyns, 2012). We investigated this possibility by examining similarities and differences in the perception and categorization of facial expressions between Chinese and white British participants using whole-face and partial-face images. Our results showed no cultural difference in the patterns of perceptual similarity of expressions from whole-face images. When categorizing the same expressions, however, both British and Chinese participants were slightly more accurate with whole-face images of their own ethnic group. To further investigate potential strategy differences, we repeated the perceptual similarity and categorization tasks with presentation of only the upper or lower half of each face. Again, the perceptual similarity of facial expressions was similar between Chinese and British participants for both the upper and lower face regions. However, participants were slightly better at categorizing facial expressions of their own ethnic group for the lower face regions, indicating that the way in which culture shapes the categorization of facial expressions is largely driven by differences in information decoding from this part of the face. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

A novel anti-influenza copper oxide containing respiratory face mask.

Science.gov (United States)

Borkow, Gadi; Zhou, Steve S; Page, Tom; Gabbay, Jeffrey

2010-06-25

Protective respiratory face masks protect the nose and mouth of the wearer from vapor drops carrying viruses or other infectious pathogens. However, incorrect use and disposal may actually increase the risk of pathogen transmission, rather than reduce it, especially when masks are used by non-professionals such as the lay public. Copper oxide displays potent antiviral properties. A platform technology has been developed that permanently introduces copper oxide into polymeric materials, conferring them with potent biocidal properties. We demonstrate that impregnation of copper oxide into respiratory protective face masks endows them with potent biocidal properties in addition to their inherent filtration properties. Both control and copper oxide impregnated masks filtered above 99.85% of aerosolized viruses when challenged with 5.66+/-0.51 and 6.17+/-0.37 log(10)TCID(50) of human influenza A virus (H1N1) and avian influenza virus (H9N2), respectively, under simulated breathing conditions (28.3 L/min). Importantly, no infectious human influenza A viral titers were recovered from the copper oxide containing masks within 30 minutes (masks. Similarly, the infectious avian influenza titers recovered from the copper oxide containing masks were masks 5.03+/-0.54 log(10)TCID(50). The copper oxide containing masks successfully passed Bacterial Filtration Efficacy, Differential Pressure, Latex Particle Challenge, and Resistance to Penetration by Synthetic Blood tests designed to test the filtration properties of face masks in accordance with the European EN 14683:2005 and NIOSH N95 standards. Impregnation of copper oxide into respiratory protective face masks endows them with potent anti-influenza biocidal properties without altering their physical barrier properties. The use of biocidal masks may significantly reduce the risk of hand or environmental contamination, and thereby subsequent infection, due to improper handling and disposal of the masks.

Challenges facing the development of the Arabic chatbot

Science.gov (United States)

AlHagbani, Eman Saad; Khan, Muhammad Badruddin

2016-07-01

The future information systems are expected to be more intelligent and will take human queries in natural language as input and answer them promptly. To develop a chatbot or a computer program that can chat with humans in realistic manner to extent that human get impressions that he/she is talking with other human is a challenging task. To make such chatbots, different technologies will work together ranging from artificial intelligence to development of semantic resources. Sophisticated chatbots are developed to perform conversation in number of languages. Arabic chatbots can be helpful in automating many operations and serve people who only know Arabic language. However, the technology for Arabic language is still in its infancy stage due to some challenges surrounding the Arabic language. This paper offers an overview of the chatbot application and the several obstacles and challenges that need to be resolved to develop an effective Arabic chatbot.

Learning discriminant face descriptor.

Science.gov (United States)

Lei, Zhen; Pietikäinen, Matti; Li, Stan Z

2014-02-01

Local feature descriptor is an important module for face recognition and those like Gabor and local binary patterns (LBP) have proven effective face descriptors. Traditionally, the form of such local descriptors is predefined in a handcrafted way. In this paper, we propose a method to learn a discriminant face descriptor (DFD) in a data-driven way. The idea is to learn the most discriminant local features that minimize the difference of the features between images of the same person and maximize that between images from different people. In particular, we propose to enhance the discriminative ability of face representation in three aspects. First, the discriminant image filters are learned. Second, the optimal neighborhood sampling strategy is soft determined. Third, the dominant patterns are statistically constructed. Discriminative learning is incorporated to extract effective and robust features. We further apply the proposed method to the heterogeneous (cross-modality) face recognition problem and learn DFD in a coupled way (coupled DFD or C-DFD) to reduce the gap between features of heterogeneous face images to improve the performance of this challenging problem. Extensive experiments on FERET, CAS-PEAL-R1, LFW, and HFB face databases validate the effectiveness of the proposed DFD learning on both homogeneous and heterogeneous face recognition problems. The DFD improves POEM and LQP by about 4.5 percent on LFW database and the C-DFD enhances the heterogeneous face recognition performance of LBP by over 25 percent.

Multi-task pose-invariant face recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Changxing; Xu, Chang; Tao, Dacheng

2015-03-01

Face images captured in unconstrained environments usually contain significant pose variation, which dramatically degrades the performance of algorithms designed to recognize frontal faces. This paper proposes a novel face identification framework capable of handling the full range of pose variations within ±90° of yaw. The proposed framework first transforms the original pose-invariant face recognition problem into a partial frontal face recognition problem. A robust patch-based face representation scheme is then developed to represent the synthesized partial frontal faces. For each patch, a transformation dictionary is learnt under the proposed multi-task learning scheme. The transformation dictionary transforms the features of different poses into a discriminative subspace. Finally, face matching is performed at patch level rather than at the holistic level. Extensive and systematic experimentation on FERET, CMU-PIE, and Multi-PIE databases shows that the proposed method consistently outperforms single-task-based baselines as well as state-of-the-art methods for the pose problem. We further extend the proposed algorithm for the unconstrained face verification problem and achieve top-level performance on the challenging LFW data set.

RRR for NNN-a rapid research response for the Neglected Tropical Disease NGDO Network: a novel framework to challenges faced by the global programs targeting neglected tropical diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Toledo, Chelsea E; Jacobson, Julie; Wainwright, Emily C; Ottesen, Eric A; Lammie, Patrick J

2016-03-01

While global programs targeting the control or elimination of five of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)-lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis, schistosomiasis and trachoma-are well underway, they still face many operational challenges. Because of the urgency of 2020 program targets, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. Agency for International Development devised a novel rapid research response (RRR) framework to engage national programs, researchers, implementers and WHO in a Coalition for Operational Research on NTDs. After 2 years, this effort has succeeded as an important basis for the research response to programmatic challenges facing NTD programs. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Face adaptation improves gender discrimination.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Hua; Shen, Jianhong; Chen, Juan; Fang, Fang

2011-01-01

Adaptation to a visual pattern can alter the sensitivities of neuronal populations encoding the pattern. However, the functional roles of adaptation, especially in high-level vision, are still equivocal. In the present study, we performed three experiments to investigate if face gender adaptation could affect gender discrimination. Experiments 1 and 2 revealed that adapting to a male/female face could selectively enhance discrimination for male/female faces. Experiment 3 showed that the discrimination enhancement induced by face adaptation could transfer across a substantial change in three-dimensional face viewpoint. These results provide further evidence suggesting that, similar to low-level vision, adaptation in high-level vision could calibrate the visual system to current inputs of complex shapes (i.e. face) and improve discrimination at the adapted characteristic. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Challenging Giant Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans on the Face

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gimena Castro Pérez

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP is a malignant fibrohistiocytic tumor that appears exclusively on the skin. It is a low-grade malignant soft tissue tumor of subcutaneous tissues that has a propensity for local recurrence but seldom metastasizes. It may rarely occur on the head and neck accounting for less than one percent of total head and neck malignancies. We present a man with a giant DFSP on the face. Oncological, functional, and aesthetic aspects are set forth.

Assessment of dietary challenges faced by Sub-Saharan immigrants ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Data relating to socio-demographic characteristics, such as continuity with ethnic food culture and the problems faced by Sub-Saharan immigrants with regard to them retaining their traditional food culture was collected. All the respondents indicated that they treasured and maintained their traditional food culture, albeit to ...

Challenges Faced by Adult Learners Enrolled in Blended Distance ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This research attempted to provide an insight into major barriers facing adult learners pursuing a diploma in adult and continuing education programme through Blended Distance Learning. Participants included the adult learners, staff from the Department of Open and Distance Learning who are also the facilitators of the ...

Female entrepreneurship and challenges faced by women entrepreneurs to reconcile conflicts between work and family: multiple case study in travel agencies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rivanda Meira Teixeira

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Women have gained more and more space in various professional areas and this development also occurs in the field of entrepreneurship. In Brazil GEM 2013 identified for the first time, that the number of new woman entrepreneurs was higher than male entrepreneurs. However, it is recognized that women entrepreneurs face many difficulties when trying to reconcile their companies with the family. The main objective of this research is to analyse the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs of travel agencies to reconcile the conflict between work and family. This study adopted the multiple cases research strategy and were selected seven women creators and managers of travel agencies in the cities of Aracaju and the Barra dos Coqueiros, in the state of Sergipe (east coast of Brazil. In an attempt to reconcile well the multiple roles these women often face the frustration and guilt. At this moment, it shows the importance of emotional contribution of husband and children. It is noticed that the search for balance between the conflicting demands generate emotional distress and / or physical.

Challenges faced by health-care providers offering infant-feeding counseling to HIV-positive women in sub-Saharan Africa: a review of current research.

Science.gov (United States)

Tuthill, Emily L; Chan, Jessica; Butler, Lisa M

2015-01-01

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) has been identified as the optimal nutrition and critical behavior in attaining human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-free infant survival in resource-limited settings. Health-care providers (HCPs) in clinic- and community-settings throughout sub-Saharan Africa (sSA) provide infant-feeding counseling. However, rates of EBF at 6 months of age are suboptimal. HCPs are uniquely positioned to educate HIV-positive mothers and provide support by addressing known barriers to EBF. However, limited evidence exists on the experiences faced by HCPs in providing counseling on infant feeding to HIV-positive women. Our objective is to describe experiences faced by HCPs when delivering infant-feeding counseling in the context of HIV in program settings in sSA. We searched a range of electronic databases, including PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO from January 1990 to February 2013, in addition to hand-searching, cross-reference searching, and personal communications. The search was limited to publications in English. Empirical studies of HCP experiences providing infant-feeding counseling in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV programs in sSA were selected. We identified 10 peer-reviewed articles reporting HCP challenges in infant-feeding counseling that met inclusion criteria. Articles included qualitative, cross-sectional and mixed-method studies, and cumulatively reported 31 challenges faced by HCPs. Among the challenges identified, the most commonly reported were personal beliefs held by the HCPs toward infant feeding in the context of HIV, contradictory messages, staff workload, directive counseling styles, and a lack of practical strategies to offer mothers, often leading to improvised counseling approaches. Counseling strategies need to be developed that are relevant, meaningful, and responsive to the needs of both HCPs and mothers.

EEG source imaging assists decoding in a face recognition task

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Rasmus S.; Eliasen, Anders U.; Pedersen, Nicolai

2017-01-01

of face recognition. This task concerns the differentiation of brain responses to images of faces and scrambled faces and poses a rather difficult decoding problem at the single trial level. We implement the pipeline using spatially focused features and show that this approach is challenged and source...

Normal composite face effects in developmental prosopagnosia.

Science.gov (United States)

Biotti, Federica; Wu, Esther; Yang, Hua; Jiahui, Guo; Duchaine, Bradley; Cook, Richard

2017-10-01

Upright face perception is thought to involve holistic processing, whereby local features are integrated into a unified whole. Consistent with this view, the top half of one face appears to fuse perceptually with the bottom half of another, when aligned spatially and presented upright. This 'composite face effect' reveals a tendency to integrate information from disparate regions when faces are presented canonically. In recent years, the relationship between susceptibility to the composite effect and face recognition ability has received extensive attention both in participants with normal face recognition and participants with developmental prosopagnosia. Previous results suggest that individuals with developmental prosopagnosia may show reduced susceptibility to the effect suggestive of diminished holistic face processing. Here we describe two studies that examine whether developmental prosopagnosia is associated with reduced composite face effects. Despite using independent samples of developmental prosopagnosics and different composite procedures, we find no evidence for reduced composite face effects. The experiments yielded similar results; highly significant composite effects in both prosopagnosic groups that were similar in magnitude to the effects found in participants with normal face processing. The composite face effects exhibited by both samples and the controls were greatly diminished when stimulus arrangements were inverted. Our finding that the whole-face binding process indexed by the composite effect is intact in developmental prosopagnosia indicates that other factors are responsible for developmental prosopagnosia. These results are also inconsistent with suggestions that susceptibility to the composite face effect and face recognition ability are tightly linked. While the holistic process revealed by the composite face effect may be necessary for typical face perception, it is not sufficient; individual differences in face recognition ability

The mighty oak faces challenges in the Pacific West

Science.gov (United States)

Gail Wells

2010-01-01

In popular imagination, the oak tree stands for strength, endurance, and longevity. But in the coastal lowlands and central valleys of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California, oaks face a battery of natural and human-induced threats. Sudden oak death, caused by a virulent pathogen identified in 2000, has killed millions of tanoaks, California black oaks,...

The challenges facing sustainable and adaptive groundwater ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

These are: the undervaluation of groundwater importance and significance; the need for expertise and information at all scales; the centralisation of power; and the disregard of ecosystems and the associated goods and services. As a means to tackle these challenges, it has been assumed that the concept of adaptive water ...

Disguised face identification using multi-modal features in a quaternionic form

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Apostolopoulos, George; Tzitzilonis, Vasileios; Kappatos, Vassilios

2017-01-01

Disguised face recognition is considered as very challenging and important problem in the face recognition field. A disguised face recognition algorithm is proposed using quaternionic representation. The feature extraction module is accomplished with a new method, decomposing each face image...... that the proposed algorithm can achieve high recognition results under disguised conditions....

Trismus in Face Transplantation Following Ballistic Trauma.

Science.gov (United States)

Krezdorn, Nicco; Alhefzi, Muayyad; Perry, Bridget; Aycart, Mario A; Tasigiorgos, Sotirios; Bueno, Ericka M; Green, Jordan R; Pribaz, Julian J; Pomahac, Bohdan; Caterson, Edward J

2018-06-01

Trismus can be a challenging consequence of ballistic trauma to the face, and has rarely been described in the setting of face transplantation. Almost half of all current face transplant recipients in the world received transplantation to restore form and function after a ballistic injury. Here we report our experience and challenges with long standing trismus after face transplantation. We reviewed the medical records of our face transplant recipients whose indication was ballistic injury. We focused our review on trismus and assessed the pre-, peri- and postoperative planning, surgery and functional outcomes. Two patients received partial face transplantation, including the midface for ballistic trauma. Both patients suffered from impaired mouth opening, speech intelligibility, and oral competence. Severe scarring of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) required intraoperative release in both patients, and additional total condylectomy on the left side 6 months posttransplant for 1 patient. Posttransplant, both patients achieved an improvement in mouth opening; however, there was persistent trismus. One year after transplantation, range of motion of the jaw had improved for both patients. Independent oral food intake was possible 1 year after surgery, although spillage of liquids and mixed consistency solids persisted. Speech intelligibility testing showed impairments in the immediate postoperative period, with improvement to over 85% for both patients at 1 year posttransplant. Ballistic trauma to the face and subsequent reconstructive measures can cause significant scarring and covert injuries to structures such as the TMJ, resulting in long standing trismus. Meticulous individual planning prior to interventions such as face transplantation must take these into account. We encourage intraoperative evaluation of these structures as well as peri- and postoperative treatment when necessary. Due to the nature of the primary injury, functional outcomes after face

Measure of Node Similarity in Multilayer Networks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anders Mollgaard

Full Text Available The weight of links in a network is often related to the similarity of the nodes. Here, we introduce a simple tunable measure for analysing the similarity of nodes across different link weights. In particular, we use the measure to analyze homophily in a group of 659 freshman students at a large university. Our analysis is based on data obtained using smartphones equipped with custom data collection software, complemented by questionnaire-based data. The network of social contacts is represented as a weighted multilayer network constructed from different channels of telecommunication as well as data on face-to-face contacts. We find that even strongly connected individuals are not more similar with respect to basic personality traits than randomly chosen pairs of individuals. In contrast, several socio-demographics variables have a significant degree of similarity. We further observe that similarity might be present in one layer of the multilayer network and simultaneously be absent in the other layers. For a variable such as gender, our measure reveals a transition from similarity between nodes connected with links of relatively low weight to dis-similarity for the nodes connected by the strongest links. We finally analyze the overlap between layers in the network for different levels of acquaintanceships.

Wheelchair Seating Assessment and Intervention: A Comparison Between Telerehabilitation and Face-to-Face Service

Science.gov (United States)

Barlow, Ingrid G; Liu, Lili; Sekulic, Angela

2009-01-01

This study compared outcomes of wheelchair seating and positioning interventions provided by telerehabilitation (n=10) and face-to-face (n=20; 10 in each of two comparison groups, one urban and one rural). Comparison clients were matched to the telerehabilitation clients in age, diagnosis, and type of seating components received. Clients and referring therapists rated their satisfaction and identified if seating intervention goals were met. Clients recorded travel expenses incurred or saved, and all therapists recorded time spent providing service. Wait times and completion times were tracked. Clients seen by telerehabilitation had similar satisfaction ratings and were as likely to have their goals met as clients seen face-to-face; telerehabilitation clients saved travel costs. Rural referring therapists who used telerehabilitation spent more time in preparation and follow-up than the other groups. Clients assessed by telerehabilitation had shorter wait times for assessment than rural face-to-face clients, but their interventions took as long to complete. PMID:25945159

Self-esteem, interpersonal risk, and preference for e-mail to face-to-face communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Joinson, Adam N

2004-08-01

The media choices made by high and low self-esteem Internet users were studied using web-based methodology (n = 265). Participants were asked to rank four media (face-to-face, e-mail, letter, and telephone) in order of preference across four different communication scenarios designed to pose an interpersonal risk. The level of interpersonal risk posed by two of the scenarios (asking for a pay rise and asking for a date) were also experimentally manipulated by randomly allocating participants to a 25%, 50%, or 75% chance of rejection. Low self-esteem users (LSE) showed a significant preference toward e-mail communication compared to high self-esteem users (HSE). This pattern was reversed for face-to-face preferences. Similarly, a greater chance of rejection in a scenario led to e-mail being preferred to face-to-face communication. The results are discussed in light of both the strategic use of different media and the motivated Internet user.

Spatial Location in Brief, Free-Viewing Face Encoding Modulates Contextual Face Recognition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatima M. Felisberti

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The effect of the spatial location of faces in the visual field during brief, free-viewing encoding in subsequent face recognition is not known. This study addressed this question by tagging three groups of faces with cheating, cooperating or neutral behaviours and presenting them for encoding in two visual hemifields (upper vs. lower or left vs. right. Participants then had to indicate if a centrally presented face had been seen before or not. Head and eye movements were free in all phases. Findings showed that the overall recognition of cooperators was significantly better than cheaters, and it was better for faces encoded in the upper hemifield than in the lower hemifield, both in terms of a higher d' and faster reaction time (RT. The d' for any given behaviour in the left and right hemifields was similar. The RT in the left hemifield did not vary with tagged behaviour, whereas the RT in the right hemifield was longer for cheaters than for cooperators. The results showed that memory biases in contextual face recognition were modulated by the spatial location of briefly encoded faces and are discussed in terms of scanning reading habits, top-left bias in lighting preference and peripersonal space.

Individual differences in adaptive coding of face identity are linked to individual differences in face recognition ability.

Science.gov (United States)

Rhodes, Gillian; Jeffery, Linda; Taylor, Libby; Hayward, William G; Ewing, Louise

2014-06-01

Despite their similarity as visual patterns, we can discriminate and recognize many thousands of faces. This expertise has been linked to 2 coding mechanisms: holistic integration of information across the face and adaptive coding of face identity using norms tuned by experience. Recently, individual differences in face recognition ability have been discovered and linked to differences in holistic coding. Here we show that they are also linked to individual differences in adaptive coding of face identity, measured using face identity aftereffects. Identity aftereffects correlated significantly with several measures of face-selective recognition ability. They also correlated marginally with own-race face recognition ability, suggesting a role for adaptive coding in the well-known other-race effect. More generally, these results highlight the important functional role of adaptive face-coding mechanisms in face expertise, taking us beyond the traditional focus on holistic coding mechanisms. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Opportunities and Challenges of Multiplex Assays: A Machine Learning Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Junfang; Schwarz, Emanuel

2017-01-01

Multiplex assays that allow the simultaneous measurement of multiple analytes in small sample quantities have developed into a widely used technology. Their implementation spans across multiple assay systems and can provide readouts of similar quality as the respective single-plex measures, albeit at far higher throughput. Multiplex assay systems are therefore an important element for biomarker discovery and development strategies but analysis of the derived data can face substantial challenges that may limit the possibility of identifying meaningful biological markers. This chapter gives an overview of opportunities and challenges of multiplexed biomarker analysis, in particular from the perspective of machine learning aimed at identification of predictive biological signatures.

Face Recognition in Humans and Machines

Science.gov (United States)

O'Toole, Alice; Tistarelli, Massimo

The study of human face recognition by psychologists and neuroscientists has run parallel to the development of automatic face recognition technologies by computer scientists and engineers. In both cases, there are analogous steps of data acquisition, image processing, and the formation of representations that can support the complex and diverse tasks we accomplish with faces. These processes can be understood and compared in the context of their neural and computational implementations. In this chapter, we present the essential elements of face recognition by humans and machines, taking a perspective that spans psychological, neural, and computational approaches. From the human side, we overview the methods and techniques used in the neurobiology of face recognition, the underlying neural architecture of the system, the role of visual attention, and the nature of the representations that emerges. From the computational side, we discuss face recognition technologies and the strategies they use to overcome challenges to robust operation over viewing parameters. Finally, we conclude the chapter with a look at some recent studies that compare human and machine performances at face recognition.

THE CHALLENGES POLITICAL LEADERSHIP FACES IN THE MODERN WORLD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. N. Samsonova

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Political leadership is a concept central to understanding political processes and outcomes, yet its definition is elusive. The study of political leadership has a long history. Many disciplines have contributed to this study, including history, philosophy, political theory, psychology etc. Leadership is a process in which leaders and followers interact dynamically in a particular situation or context. Leaders must be able to connect with followers to understand their mood and their initiative. There are essential and operational differences between a leader and a manager. Managerial effectiveness is related to an emphasis on rationality and organizational structure. Leadership effectiveness is linked to symbols and culture. The interactive nature of leader-followers-situation can help us better understand the changing nature of the leaderfollower relationship and the increasingly greater complexity of situations leaders and followers face in contemporary world. Good leadership makes a difference, and it can be enhanced through greater awareness of the important factors influencing the leadership process. The changes we are facing in today’s world demand a new breed of political leaders, new forms and mechanisms of leader-follower interaction that provide effective leadership. 

Multithread Face Recognition in Cloud

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dakshina Ranjan Kisku

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Faces are highly challenging and dynamic objects that are employed as biometrics evidence in identity verification. Recently, biometrics systems have proven to be an essential security tools, in which bulk matching of enrolled people and watch lists is performed every day. To facilitate this process, organizations with large computing facilities need to maintain these facilities. To minimize the burden of maintaining these costly facilities for enrollment and recognition, multinational companies can transfer this responsibility to third-party vendors who can maintain cloud computing infrastructures for recognition. In this paper, we showcase cloud computing-enabled face recognition, which utilizes PCA-characterized face instances and reduces the number of invariant SIFT points that are extracted from each face. To achieve high interclass and low intraclass variances, a set of six PCA-characterized face instances is computed on columns of each face image by varying the number of principal components. Extracted SIFT keypoints are fused using sum and max fusion rules. A novel cohort selection technique is applied to increase the total performance. The proposed protomodel is tested on BioID and FEI face databases, and the efficacy of the system is proven based on the obtained results. We also compare the proposed method with other well-known methods.

Recognition of face and non-face stimuli in autistic spectrum disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Arkush, Leo; Smith-Collins, Adam P R; Fiorentini, Chiara; Skuse, David H

2013-12-01

The ability to remember faces is critical for the development of social competence. From childhood to adulthood, we acquire a high level of expertise in the recognition of facial images, and neural processes become dedicated to sustaining competence. Many people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have poor face recognition memory; changes in hairstyle or other non-facial features in an otherwise familiar person affect their recollection skills. The observation implies that they may not use the configuration of the inner face to achieve memory competence, but bolster performance in other ways. We aimed to test this hypothesis by comparing the performance of a group of high-functioning unmedicated adolescents with ASD and a matched control group on a "surprise" face recognition memory task. We compared their memory for unfamiliar faces with their memory for images of houses. To evaluate the role that is played by peripheral cues in assisting recognition memory, we cropped both sets of pictures, retaining only the most salient central features. ASD adolescents had poorer recognition memory for faces than typical controls, but their recognition memory for houses was unimpaired. Cropping images of faces did not disproportionately influence their recall accuracy, relative to controls. House recognition skills (cropped and uncropped) were similar in both groups. In the ASD group only, performance on both sets of task was closely correlated, implying that memory for faces and other complex pictorial stimuli is achieved by domain-general (non-dedicated) cognitive mechanisms. Adolescents with ASD apparently do not use domain-specialized processing of inner facial cues to support face recognition memory. © 2013 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Holistic processing for other-race faces in chinese participants occurs for upright but not inverted faces.

Science.gov (United States)

Crookes, Kate; Favelle, Simone; Hayward, William G

2013-01-01

Recent evidence suggests stronger holistic processing for own-race faces may underlie the own-race advantage in face memory. In previous studies Caucasian participants have demonstrated larger holistic processing effects for Caucasian over Asian faces. However, Asian participants have consistently shown similar sized effects for both Asian and Caucasian faces. We investigated two proposed explanations for the holistic processing of other-race faces by Asian participants: (1) greater other-race exposure, (2) a general global processing bias. Holistic processing was tested using the part-whole task. Participants were living in predominantly own-race environments and other-race contact was evaluated. Despite reporting significantly greater contact with own-race than other-race people, Chinese participants displayed strong holistic processing for both Asian and Caucasian upright faces. In addition, Chinese participants showed no evidence of holistic processing for inverted faces arguing against a general global processing bias explanation. Caucasian participants, in line with previous studies, displayed stronger holistic processing for Caucasian than Asian upright faces. For inverted faces there were no race-of-face differences. These results are used to suggest that Asians may make more general use of face-specific mechanisms than Caucasians.

International conference on challenges faced by technical and scientific support organizations in enhancing nuclear safety. Contributed papers and presentations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

Over the past two decades, the IAEA has conducted a series of major conferences that have addressed topical issues and strategies critical to nuclear safety for consideration by the world's nuclear regulators. More recently, the IAEA organized the International Conference on Effective Nuclear Regulatory Systems - Facing Safety and Security Challenges, held in Moscow in 2006. The Moscow conference was the first of its kind, because it brought together senior regulators of nuclear safety, radiation safety and security from around the world to discuss how to improve regulatory effectiveness with the objective of improving the protection of the public and the users of nuclear and radioactive material. The International Conference on Challenges Faced by Technical and Scientific Support Organizations in Enhancing Nuclear Safety was held in Aix-en-Provence, France, from 23 to 27 April 2007. This conference, again, was the first of its kind, because it was the first to address technical and scientific support organizations (TSOs), the role they play in supporting either the national regulatory bodies or the industry in making optimum safety decisions and the challenges they face in providing this support. This conference provided a forum for the TSOs to discuss these and other issues with the organizations to which they provide this support - that is, the regulators and the operators/industry - as well as with other stakeholders such as research organizations and public authorities. This conference can also be considered to have a link to the Moscow conference. The Moscow conference concluded that effective regulation of nuclear safety is vital for the safe use of nuclear energy and associated technologies, both now and in the future, and is an essential prerequisite for establishing an effective Global Nuclear Safety Regime. The Moscow conference also highlighted the importance of continued and improved international cooperation in the area of nuclear safety. These

Mapping the emotional face. How individual face parts contribute to successful emotion recognition.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Wegrzyn

Full Text Available Which facial features allow human observers to successfully recognize expressions of emotion? While the eyes and mouth have been frequently shown to be of high importance, research on facial action units has made more precise predictions about the areas involved in displaying each emotion. The present research investigated on a fine-grained level, which physical features are most relied on when decoding facial expressions. In the experiment, individual faces expressing the basic emotions according to Ekman were hidden behind a mask of 48 tiles, which was sequentially uncovered. Participants were instructed to stop the sequence as soon as they recognized the facial expression and assign it the correct label. For each part of the face, its contribution to successful recognition was computed, allowing to visualize the importance of different face areas for each expression. Overall, observers were mostly relying on the eye and mouth regions when successfully recognizing an emotion. Furthermore, the difference in the importance of eyes and mouth allowed to group the expressions in a continuous space, ranging from sadness and fear (reliance on the eyes to disgust and happiness (mouth. The face parts with highest diagnostic value for expression identification were typically located in areas corresponding to action units from the facial action coding system. A similarity analysis of the usefulness of different face parts for expression recognition demonstrated that faces cluster according to the emotion they express, rather than by low-level physical features. Also, expressions relying more on the eyes or mouth region were in close proximity in the constructed similarity space. These analyses help to better understand how human observers process expressions of emotion, by delineating the mapping from facial features to psychological representation.

Mapping the emotional face. How individual face parts contribute to successful emotion recognition

Science.gov (United States)

Wegrzyn, Martin; Vogt, Maria; Kireclioglu, Berna; Schneider, Julia; Kissler, Johanna

2017-01-01

Which facial features allow human observers to successfully recognize expressions of emotion? While the eyes and mouth have been frequently shown to be of high importance, research on facial action units has made more precise predictions about the areas involved in displaying each emotion. The present research investigated on a fine-grained level, which physical features are most relied on when decoding facial expressions. In the experiment, individual faces expressing the basic emotions according to Ekman were hidden behind a mask of 48 tiles, which was sequentially uncovered. Participants were instructed to stop the sequence as soon as they recognized the facial expression and assign it the correct label. For each part of the face, its contribution to successful recognition was computed, allowing to visualize the importance of different face areas for each expression. Overall, observers were mostly relying on the eye and mouth regions when successfully recognizing an emotion. Furthermore, the difference in the importance of eyes and mouth allowed to group the expressions in a continuous space, ranging from sadness and fear (reliance on the eyes) to disgust and happiness (mouth). The face parts with highest diagnostic value for expression identification were typically located in areas corresponding to action units from the facial action coding system. A similarity analysis of the usefulness of different face parts for expression recognition demonstrated that faces cluster according to the emotion they express, rather than by low-level physical features. Also, expressions relying more on the eyes or mouth region were in close proximity in the constructed similarity space. These analyses help to better understand how human observers process expressions of emotion, by delineating the mapping from facial features to psychological representation. PMID:28493921

Face identification with frequency domain matched filtering in mobile environments

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Dong-Su; Woo, Yong-Hyun; Yeom, Seokwon; Kim, Shin-Hwan

2012-06-01

Face identification at a distance is very challenging since captured images are often degraded by blur and noise. Furthermore, the computational resources and memory are often limited in the mobile environments. Thus, it is very challenging to develop a real-time face identification system on the mobile device. This paper discusses face identification based on frequency domain matched filtering in the mobile environments. Face identification is performed by the linear or phase-only matched filter and sequential verification stages. The candidate window regions are decided by the major peaks of the linear or phase-only matched filtering outputs. The sequential stages comprise a skin-color test and an edge mask filtering test, which verify color and shape information of the candidate regions in order to remove false alarms. All algorithms are built on the mobile device using Android platform. The preliminary results show that face identification of East Asian people can be performed successfully in the mobile environments.

Challenges facing the insurance industry since the modernisation of the international nuclear third party liability regime

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quere, Alain

2014-01-01

events illustrate some of the challenges facing the world of insurance following the modernisation of the international nuclear third party liability regime: - Will the insurance industry be able to find funds corresponding to the new amounts that have been set? - Do the additional damages covered by the revised conventions provide adequate cover for existing risks and will private insurance be able and willing to cover such risks? Nevertheless, the insurance world has changed a great deal since 2004 and there are many additional issues that have arisen since that time. For example, the economic crisis and the introduction of the European Solvency II Directive require insurers to take a more stringent line with their commitments. Moreover, after the Fukushima Daiichi accident, a number of questions have resurfaced: are the new insurance amounts sufficient? The age of 'nuclear renaissance' has long gone and some countries are distancing themselves from nuclear power in light of its questionable costs; are operators paying a fair price in light of the risks incurred? Finally, Europe is keen to play its part and impose its own rules; what will be the consequences of this development? This article reconsiders these challenges in light of the 2004 Protocol (which has not entered into force), by focusing in particular on the situation in Europe. Section I looks back at the history behind the conventions and the key principles they set down. Section II highlights the changes made to the Paris Convention as amended by the 2004 Protocol and the problems facing the insurance industry. Section III provides an overview of the various actors involved in the insurance industry and redefines the necessary insurance foundations to cover the challenges described in Section IV. Finally, Section IV covers all the challenges facing the insurance industry since the modernisation of the international nuclear third party liability regime. (author)

Haar-like Features for Robust Real-Time Face Recognition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nasrollahi, Kamal; Moeslund, Thomas B.

2013-01-01

Face recognition is still a very challenging task when the input face image is noisy, occluded by some obstacles, of very low-resolution, not facing the camera, and not properly illuminated. These problems make the feature extraction and consequently the face recognition system unstable....... The proposed system in this paper introduces the novel idea of using Haar-like features, which have commonly been used for object detection, along with a probabilistic classifier for face recognition. The proposed system is simple, real-time, effective and robust against most of the mentioned problems....... Experimental results on public databases show that the proposed system indeed outperforms the state-of-the-art face recognition systems....

Face detection and facial feature localization using notch based templates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qayyum, U.

2007-01-01

We present a real time detection off aces from the video with facial feature localization as well as the algorithm capable of differentiating between the face/non-face patterns. The need of face detection and facial feature localization arises in various application of computer vision, so a lot of research is dedicated to come up with a real time solution. The algorithm should remain simple to perform real time whereas it should not compromise on the challenges encountered during the detection and localization phase, keeping simplicity and all challenges i.e. algorithm invariant to scale, translation, and (+-45) rotation transformations. The proposed system contains two parts. Visual guidance and face/non-face classification. The visual guidance phase uses the fusion of motion and color cues to classify skin color. Morphological operation with union-structure component labeling algorithm extracts contiguous regions. Scale normalization is applied by nearest neighbor interpolation method to avoid the effect of different scales. Using the aspect ratio of width and height size. Region of Interest (ROI) is obtained and then passed to face/non-face classifier. Notch (Gaussian) based templates/ filters are used to find circular darker regions in ROI. The classified face region is handed over to facial feature localization phase, which uses YCbCr eyes/lips mask for face feature localization. The empirical results show an accuracy of 90% for five different videos with 1000 face/non-face patterns and processing rate of proposed algorithm is 15 frames/sec. (author)

Technology survey on video face tracking

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Tong; Gomes, Herman Martins

2014-03-01

With the pervasiveness of monitoring cameras installed in public areas, schools, hospitals, work places and homes, video analytics technologies for interpreting these video contents are becoming increasingly relevant to people's lives. Among such technologies, human face detection and tracking (and face identification in many cases) are particularly useful in various application scenarios. While plenty of research has been conducted on face tracking and many promising approaches have been proposed, there are still significant challenges in recognizing and tracking people in videos with uncontrolled capturing conditions, largely due to pose and illumination variations, as well as occlusions and cluttered background. It is especially complex to track and identify multiple people simultaneously in real time due to the large amount of computation involved. In this paper, we present a survey on literature and software that are published or developed during recent years on the face tracking topic. The survey covers the following topics: 1) mainstream and state-of-the-art face tracking methods, including features used to model the targets and metrics used for tracking; 2) face identification and face clustering from face sequences; and 3) software packages or demonstrations that are available for algorithm development or trial. A number of publically available databases for face tracking are also introduced.

Is sustainable development attainable? Challenges facing forestry and the forest products industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wrist, P.E.

1991-01-01

The challenges that face the forest industry in achieving sustainable development are reviewed. Sustainable development is not the same as sustained yield forest management. While sustained yield limits harvesting to an estimate of a forest's incremental annual growth, it is a policy which neither takes into account how improved forest management practices can increase future growth rates nor gives guidance on how multiple uses for the forest resource can be made compatible with periodic harvesting of that resource. Forests, in addition to meeting demands for timber production, must also meet demands for watershed management, recreation, preservation of wildlife and genetic diversity, moderation of climates, carbon sequestration, and land reclamation. Information is lacking from which to develop improved forest management programs that take these demands into account. Questions remain about such matters as the role of plantations in sustainable forestry and the maintenance of natural diversity. Some recent research being undertaken to generate better information for future forestry decision making is outlined, including work on gene pool maintenance, the interdependence of forest ecology and climate, the symbiotic role of mycorrhiza, forest fertilization, and the interdependence of sustainable forestry and sustainable fisheries. In the forest products industry, engineered wood products have been developed that meet tight specifications and require less raw material, and process changes have been introduced that greatly reduce pollutants from pulp manufacture

'Shedding light' on the challenges faced by Palestinian maternal health-care providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Hassan-Bitar, Sahar; Narrainen, Sheila

2011-04-01

to explore the challenges and barriers faced by Palestinian maternal health-care providers (HCPs) to the provision of quality maternal health-care services through a case study of a Palestinian public referral hospital in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. descriptive qualitative study. The data are from a broader study, conducted in 2005 at the same hospital as part of a baseline assessment of maternal health services. 31 maternal HCPs; nine midwives and 14 nurses and eight doctors. the quality of care provided for women and infants at this Palestinian public hospital is substandard. The maternal HCPs work within a difficult and resource-constrained environment. ISSUES INCLUDE: high workload, poor compensation, humiliation in the workplace, suboptimal supervision and the absence of professional support and guidance. Midwives are perceived to be at the bottom of the health professional hierarchy. there is a need for managers and policy makers to enable maternal HCPs to provide better quality care for women and infants during childbirth, through facilitating the roles of midwives and nurses and creating a more positive and resourceful environment. Palestinian midwives need to increase their knowledge and use evidence-based practices during childbirth. They need to unite and create their own circle of professional support in the form of a Palestinian midwifery professional body. Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anti-racist pedagogy: challenges faced by faculty of color in predominantly white schools of nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Hassouneh, Dena

2006-07-01

Despite the significant effects of systems of oppression on health, nursing education tends not to include anti-racist pedagogy in its curricula, preferring instead to focus more narrowly on culture. This narrow focus allows nurses to depoliticize discussions of race and other social differences, largely ignoring the influence that systems of oppression, imperialism, and historical trauma have had on health in marginalized populations. In contrast, anti-racist pedagogy educates students in ways that make racialized power relations explicit, deconstruct the social construction of race, and analyze interlocking systems of oppression that serve to marginalize and exclude some groups while privileging others. This article describes anti-racist pedagogy from the perspective of a faculty member of color, drawing on personal experience and a review of the anti-racist pedagogical literature. Specifically, this article highlights some of the personal and professional challenges faced by faculty of color when engaged in anti-racist pedagogy in predominantly white schools of nursing.

The neural code for face orientation in the human fusiform face area.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramírez, Fernando M; Cichy, Radoslaw M; Allefeld, Carsten; Haynes, John-Dylan

2014-09-03

Humans recognize faces and objects with high speed and accuracy regardless of their orientation. Recent studies have proposed that orientation invariance in face recognition involves an intermediate representation where neural responses are similar for mirror-symmetric views. Here, we used fMRI, multivariate pattern analysis, and computational modeling to investigate the neural encoding of faces and vehicles at different rotational angles. Corroborating previous studies, we demonstrate a representation of face orientation in the fusiform face-selective area (FFA). We go beyond these studies by showing that this representation is category-selective and tolerant to retinal translation. Critically, by controlling for low-level confounds, we found the representation of orientation in FFA to be compatible with a linear angle code. Aspects of mirror-symmetric coding cannot be ruled out when FFA mean activity levels are considered as a dimension of coding. Finally, we used a parametric family of computational models, involving a biased sampling of view-tuned neuronal clusters, to compare different face angle encoding models. The best fitting model exhibited a predominance of neuronal clusters tuned to frontal views of faces. In sum, our findings suggest a category-selective and monotonic code of face orientation in the human FFA, in line with primate electrophysiology studies that observed mirror-symmetric tuning of neural responses at higher stages of the visual system, beyond the putative homolog of human FFA. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/3412155-13$15.00/0.

Does distance e-learning work? A comparison between distance and face-to-face learners using e-learning materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara de Freitas

2003-12-01

Full Text Available This study compares continual assessment data, intake numbers, retention numbers and final examination grades of a mixed cohort of face-to-face and distance learners against similar data from previous years where e-learning materials were not used in order to test whether e-learning materials can support the same quality and quantity of teaching and learning for both face-to-face and distance learners. The results for this cohort of learners demonstrate that: (i distance e-learners score as well and sometimes better than face-to-face learners; (ii face-to-face student numbers have increased; (iii overall, student retention and student attendance have been maintained; (iv final examination results have been maintained or in some cases improved; (v lecturer workload was high, but not unmanageable, and it is clear how manageability can be improved.

The neural representation of personally familiar and unfamiliar faces in the distributed system for face perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Visconti di Oleggio Castello, Matteo; Halchenko, Yaroslav O; Guntupalli, J Swaroop; Gors, Jason D; Gobbini, M Ida

2017-09-25

Personally familiar faces are processed more robustly and efficiently than unfamiliar faces. The human face processing system comprises a core system that analyzes the visual appearance of faces and an extended system for the retrieval of person-knowledge and other nonvisual information. We applied multivariate pattern analysis to fMRI data to investigate aspects of familiarity that are shared by all familiar identities and information that distinguishes specific face identities from each other. Both identity-independent familiarity information and face identity could be decoded in an overlapping set of areas in the core and extended systems. Representational similarity analysis revealed a clear distinction between the two systems and a subdivision of the core system into ventral, dorsal and anterior components. This study provides evidence that activity in the extended system carries information about both individual identities and personal familiarity, while clarifying and extending the organization of the core system for face perception.

Alternatives to the face-to-face consultation in general practice: focused ethnographic case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Atherton, Helen; Brant, Heather; Ziebland, Sue; Bikker, Annemieke; Campbell, John; Gibson, Andy; McKinstry, Brian; Porqueddu, Tania; Salisbury, Chris

2018-04-01

NHS policy encourages general practices to introduce alternatives to the face-to-face consultation, such as telephone, email, e-consultation systems, or internet video. Most have been slow to adopt these, citing concerns about workload. This project builds on previous research by focusing on the experiences of patients and practitioners who have used one or more of these alternatives. To understand how, under what conditions, for which patients, and in what ways, alternatives to face-to-face consultations present benefits and challenges to patients and practitioners in general practice. Focused ethnographic case studies took place in eight UK general practices between June 2015 and March 2016. Non-participant observation, informal conversations with staff, and semi-structured interviews with staff and patients were conducted. Practice documents and protocols were reviewed. Data were analysed through charting and the 'one sheet of paper' mind-map method to identify the line of argument in each thematic report. Case study practices had different rationales for offering alternatives to the face-to-face consultation. Beliefs varied about which patients and health issues were suitable. Co-workers were often unaware of each other's practice; for example, practice policies for use of e-consultations systems with patients were not known about or followed. Patients reported benefits including convenience and access. Staff and some patients regarded the face-to-face consultation as the ideal. Experience of implementing alternatives to the face-to-face consultation suggests that changes in patient access and staff workload may be both modest and gradual. Practices planning to implement them should consider carefully their reasons for doing so and involve the whole practice team. © British Journal of General Practice 2018.

A comparison of problem identification interviews conducted face-to-face and via videoconferencing using the consultation analysis record.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Aaron J; Collier-Meek, Melissa A; Bloomfield, Bradley; Erchul, William P; Gresham, Frank M

2017-08-01

School psychologists who experience challenges delivering face-to-face consultation may utilize videoconferencing to facilitate their consultation activities. Videoconferencing has been found to be an effective method of service delivery in related fields and emerging research suggests that it may be effective for providing teacher training and support in school settings. In this exploratory investigation, we used the Consultation Analysis Record (Bergan & Tombari, 1975) and its four indices to assess the effectiveness of conducting problem identification interviews via videoconferencing versus face-to-face. Overall, findings indicated significant differences across these two conditions, with videoconference interviews coded as having higher indices of content relevance, process effectiveness, and message control, but lower content focus, compared to face-to-face interviews. As these indices have been positively associated with favorable consultation outcomes, the results provide initial support for the effectiveness of consultation delivered via videoconferencing. Copyright © 2017 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

What's in a crowd? Analysis of face-to-face behavioral networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Isella, Lorenzo; Stehlé, Juliette; Barrat, Alain; Cattuto, Ciro; Pinton, Jean-François; Van den Broeck, Wouter

2011-02-21

The availability of new data sources on human mobility is opening new avenues for investigating the interplay of social networks, human mobility and dynamical processes such as epidemic spreading. Here we analyze data on the time-resolved face-to-face proximity of individuals in large-scale real-world scenarios. We compare two settings with very different properties, a scientific conference and a long-running museum exhibition. We track the behavioral networks of face-to-face proximity, and characterize them from both a static and a dynamic point of view, exposing differences and similarities. We use our data to investigate the dynamics of a susceptible-infected model for epidemic spreading that unfolds on the dynamical networks of human proximity. The spreading patterns are markedly different for the conference and the museum case, and they are strongly impacted by the causal structure of the network data. A deeper study of the spreading paths shows that the mere knowledge of static aggregated networks would lead to erroneous conclusions about the transmission paths on the dynamical networks. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neural architecture underlying classification of face perception paradigms.

Science.gov (United States)

Laird, Angela R; Riedel, Michael C; Sutherland, Matthew T; Eickhoff, Simon B; Ray, Kimberly L; Uecker, Angela M; Fox, P Mickle; Turner, Jessica A; Fox, Peter T

2015-10-01

We present a novel strategy for deriving a classification system of functional neuroimaging paradigms that relies on hierarchical clustering of experiments archived in the BrainMap database. The goal of our proof-of-concept application was to examine the underlying neural architecture of the face perception literature from a meta-analytic perspective, as these studies include a wide range of tasks. Task-based results exhibiting similar activation patterns were grouped as similar, while tasks activating different brain networks were classified as functionally distinct. We identified four sub-classes of face tasks: (1) Visuospatial Attention and Visuomotor Coordination to Faces, (2) Perception and Recognition of Faces, (3) Social Processing and Episodic Recall of Faces, and (4) Face Naming and Lexical Retrieval. Interpretation of these sub-classes supports an extension of a well-known model of face perception to include a core system for visual analysis and extended systems for personal information, emotion, and salience processing. Overall, these results demonstrate that a large-scale data mining approach can inform the evolution of theoretical cognitive models by probing the range of behavioral manipulations across experimental tasks. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Wheelchair Seating Assessment and Intervention: A Comparison between Telerehabilitation and Face-to-Face Service

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ingrid G Barlow

2009-09-01

Full Text Available This study compared outcomes of wheelchair seating and positioning interventions provided by telerehabilitation (n=10 and face-to-face (n=20; 10 in each of two comparison groups, one urban and one rural. Comparison clients were matched to the telerehabilitation clients in age, diagnosis, and type of seating components received. Clients and referring therapists rated their satisfaction and identified if seating intervention goals were met. Clients recorded travel expenses incurred or saved, and all therapists recorded time spent providing service. Wait times and completion times were tracked. Clients seen by telerehabilitation had similar satisfaction ratings and were as likely to have their goals met as clients seen face-to-face; telerehabilitation clients saved travel costs. Rural referring therapists who used telerehabilitation spent more time in preparation and follow-up than the other groups. Clients assessed by telerehabilitation had shorter wait times for assessment than rural face-to-face clients, but their interventions took as long to complete. Keywords: Telerehabilitation, Telehealth, Videoconferencing, Wheelchair Seating, Outcomes, Rehabilitation

A novel anti-influenza copper oxide containing respiratory face mask.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gadi Borkow

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Protective respiratory face masks protect the nose and mouth of the wearer from vapor drops carrying viruses or other infectious pathogens. However, incorrect use and disposal may actually increase the risk of pathogen transmission, rather than reduce it, especially when masks are used by non-professionals such as the lay public. Copper oxide displays potent antiviral properties. A platform technology has been developed that permanently introduces copper oxide into polymeric materials, conferring them with potent biocidal properties. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We demonstrate that impregnation of copper oxide into respiratory protective face masks endows them with potent biocidal properties in addition to their inherent filtration properties. Both control and copper oxide impregnated masks filtered above 99.85% of aerosolized viruses when challenged with 5.66+/-0.51 and 6.17+/-0.37 log(10TCID(50 of human influenza A virus (H1N1 and avian influenza virus (H9N2, respectively, under simulated breathing conditions (28.3 L/min. Importantly, no infectious human influenza A viral titers were recovered from the copper oxide containing masks within 30 minutes (< or = 0.88 log(10TCID(50, while 4.67+/-1.35 log(10TCID(50 were recovered from the control masks. Similarly, the infectious avian influenza titers recovered from the copper oxide containing masks were < or = 0.97+/-0.01 log(10TCID(50 and from the control masks 5.03+/-0.54 log(10TCID(50. The copper oxide containing masks successfully passed Bacterial Filtration Efficacy, Differential Pressure, Latex Particle Challenge, and Resistance to Penetration by Synthetic Blood tests designed to test the filtration properties of face masks in accordance with the European EN 14683:2005 and NIOSH N95 standards. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Impregnation of copper oxide into respiratory protective face masks endows them with potent anti-influenza biocidal properties without altering their physical

Challenge and Change

Science.gov (United States)

Mehaffy, George L.

2012-01-01

In the past twenty years, various industries have been forever altered by technology: newspapers, book publishing, the photography business, and many more. Higher education too faces unprecedented challenges primarily driven by rapid changes in technology. To meet these challenges and adapt to these changes, new models are needed. Six challenges…

Face scanning in autism spectrum disorder (ASD and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD: human versus dog face scanning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauro eMuszkat

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This study used eye-tracking to explore attention allocation to human and dog faces in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, and typical development (TD. Significant differences were found among the three groups. TD participants looked longer at the eyes than ASD and ADHD ones, irrespective of the faces presented. In spite of this difference, groups were similar in that they looked more to the eyes than to the mouth areas of interest. The ADHD group gazed longer at the mouth region than the other groups. Furthermore, groups were also similar in that they looked more to the dog than to the human faces. The eye tracking technology proved to be useful for behavioral investigation in different neurodevelopmental disorders.

Genetic specificity of face recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Shakeshaft, Nicholas G; Plomin, Robert

2015-10-13

Specific cognitive abilities in diverse domains are typically found to be highly heritable and substantially correlated with general cognitive ability (g), both phenotypically and genetically. Recent twin studies have found the ability to memorize and recognize faces to be an exception, being similarly heritable but phenotypically substantially uncorrelated both with g and with general object recognition. However, the genetic relationships between face recognition and other abilities (the extent to which they share a common genetic etiology) cannot be determined from phenotypic associations. In this, to our knowledge, first study of the genetic associations between face recognition and other domains, 2,000 18- and 19-year-old United Kingdom twins completed tests assessing their face recognition, object recognition, and general cognitive abilities. Results confirmed the substantial heritability of face recognition (61%), and multivariate genetic analyses found that most of this genetic influence is unique and not shared with other cognitive abilities.

Challenges faced by health workers in implementing the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) programme in Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Nuwagaba-Biribonwoha, H; Mayon-White, R T; Okong, P; Carpenter, L M

2007-09-01

To report the experience of health workers who had played key roles in the early stages of implementing the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission services (PMTCT) in Uganda. Interviews were conducted with 15 key informants including counsellors, obstetricians and PMTCT coordinators at the five PMTCT test sites in Uganda to investigate the benefits, challenges and sustainability of the PMTCT programme. Audio-taped interviews were held with each informant between January and June 2003. These were transcribed verbatim and manually analysed using the framework approach. The perceived benefits reported by informants were improvement of general obstetric care, provision of antiretroviral prophylaxis for HIV-positive mothers, staff training and community awareness. The main challenges lay in the reluctance of women to be tested for HIV, incomplete follow-up of participants, non-disclosure of HIV status and difficulties with infant feeding for HIV-positive mothers. Key informants thought that the programme's sustainability depended on maintaining staff morale and numbers, on improving services and providing more resources, particularly antiretroviral therapy for the HIV-positive women and their families. Uganda's experience in piloting the PMTCT programme reflected the many challenges faced by health workers. Potentially resource-sparing strategies such as the 'opt-out' approach to HIV testing required further evaluation.

Challenge theme 2: assuring water availability and quality in the 21st century: Chapter 4 in United States-Mexican Borderlands: Facing tomorrow's challenges through USGS science

Science.gov (United States)

Callegary, James; Langeman, Jeff; Leenhouts, Jim; Martin, Peter

2013-01-01

Along the United States–Mexican border, the health of communities, economies, and ecosystems is inextricably intertwined with the availability and quality of water, but effective water management in the Borderlands is complicated. Water users compete for resources, and their needs are increasing. Managers are faced with issues such as finding a balance between agriculture and rapidly growing cities or maintaining public supplies while ensuring sufficient resources for aquatic ecosystems. In addition to human factors, the dry climate of the Borderlands, as compared to more temperate regions, also increases the challenge of balancing water supplies between humans and ecosystems. Warmer, drier, and more variable conditions across the southwestern United States—the projected results of climate change (Seager and others, 2007)—would further stress water supplies.

Recognition of human face images by the free flying wasp Vespula vulgaris

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aurore Avarguès-Weber

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The capacity to recognize perceptually similar complex visual stimuli such as human faces has classically been thought to require a large primate, and/or mammalian brain with neurobiological adaptations. However, recent work suggests that the relatively small brain of a paper wasp, Polistes fuscatus, possesses specialized face processing capabilities. In parallel, the honeybee, Apis mellifera, has been shown to be able to rely on configural learning for extensive visual learning, thus converging with primate visual processing. Therefore, the honeybee may be able to recognize human faces, and show sophisticated learning performance due to its foraging lifestyle involving visiting and memorizing many flowers. We investigated the visual capacities of the widespread invasive wasp Vespula vulgaris, which is unlikely to have any specialization for face processing. Freely flying individual wasps were trained in an appetitive-aversive differential conditioning procedure to discriminate between perceptually similar human face images from a standard face recognition test. The wasps could then recognize the target face from novel dissimilar or similar human faces, but showed a significant drop in performance when the stimuli were rotated by 180°, thus paralleling results acquired on a similar protocol with honeybees. This result confirms that a general visual system can likely solve complex recognition tasks, the first stage to evolve a visual expertise system to face recognition, even in the absence of neurobiological or behavioral specialization.

Clustering Millions of Faces by Identity.

Science.gov (United States)

Otto, Charles; Wang, Dayong; Jain, Anil K

2018-02-01

Given a large collection of unlabeled face images, we address the problem of clustering faces into an unknown number of identities. This problem is of interest in social media, law enforcement, and other applications, where the number of faces can be of the order of hundreds of million, while the number of identities (clusters) can range from a few thousand to millions. To address the challenges of run-time complexity and cluster quality, we present an approximate Rank-Order clustering algorithm that performs better than popular clustering algorithms (k-Means and Spectral). Our experiments include clustering up to 123 million face images into over 10 million clusters. Clustering results are analyzed in terms of external (known face labels) and internal (unknown face labels) quality measures, and run-time. Our algorithm achieves an F-measure of 0.87 on the LFW benchmark (13 K faces of 5,749 individuals), which drops to 0.27 on the largest dataset considered (13 K faces in LFW + 123M distractor images). Additionally, we show that frames in the YouTube benchmark can be clustered with an F-measure of 0.71. An internal per-cluster quality measure is developed to rank individual clusters for manual exploration of high quality clusters that are compact and isolated.

Online Scientific Dissemination of Knowledge Blended with Face-to-Face Learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tveden-Nyborg, Svend

2013-01-01

is experienced differently throughout a society due to fast and slow adopters. Blending online learning with face-to-face experience will strengthen the learning curve among the targeted users and ensure a faster dissemination of knowledge and thus learning to the entire community....... between the seed scientists, seed consultants, and the seed growers, and the requirements for a knowledge website for learning new seed science. This paper describes the specification requirements set for the required website including taxonomized hierarchical meta-tagging, RSS, legal matters, together...... with limitations and potentials. However, selecting online communication media as a dissemination tool for a community comes with a challenge – among other things it risks creating a learning divide between fast and slow learners. According to the theoretical framework “Diffusion of Innovation”[1] innovation...

From scores to face templates: a model-based approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohanty, Pranab; Sarkar, Sudeep; Kasturi, Rangachar

2007-12-01

Regeneration of templates from match scores has security and privacy implications related to any biometric authentication system. We propose a novel paradigm to reconstruct face templates from match scores using a linear approach. It proceeds by first modeling the behavior of the given face recognition algorithm by an affine transformation. The goal of the modeling is to approximate the distances computed by a face recognition algorithm between two faces by distances between points, representing these faces, in an affine space. Given this space, templates from an independent image set (break-in) are matched only once with the enrolled template of the targeted subject and match scores are recorded. These scores are then used to embed the targeted subject in the approximating affine (non-orthogonal) space. Given the coordinates of the targeted subject in the affine space, the original template of the targeted subject is reconstructed using the inverse of the affine transformation. We demonstrate our ideas using three, fundamentally different, face recognition algorithms: Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Mahalanobis cosine distance measure, Bayesian intra-extrapersonal classifier (BIC), and a feature-based commercial algorithm. To demonstrate the independence of the break-in set with the gallery set, we select face templates from two different databases: Face Recognition Grand Challenge (FRGC) and Facial Recognition Technology (FERET) Database (FERET). With an operational point set at 1 percent False Acceptance Rate (FAR) and 99 percent True Acceptance Rate (TAR) for 1,196 enrollments (FERET gallery), we show that at most 600 attempts (score computations) are required to achieve a 73 percent chance of breaking in as a randomly chosen target subject for the commercial face recognition system. With similar operational set up, we achieve a 72 percent and 100 percent chance of breaking in for the Bayesian and PCA based face recognition systems, respectively. With

Challenges Faced by Graduate Business Education in Southern Africa: Perceptions of MBA Participants

Science.gov (United States)

Temtime, Zelealem T.; Mmereki, Rebana N.

2011-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the degree of satisfaction and perceived relevance of the Graduate Business Education (GBE) programme at the University of Botswana. Design/methodology/approach: A self-administered questionnaire and face to face interviews were used to collect data from Master of Business Administration (MBA)…

Neurocomputational bases of object and face recognition.

OpenAIRE

Biederman, I; Kalocsai, P

1997-01-01

A number of behavioural phenomena distinguish the recognition of faces and objects, even when members of a set of objects are highly similar. Because faces have the same parts in approximately the same relations, individuation of faces typically requires specification of the metric variation in a holistic and integral representation of the facial surface. The direct mapping of a hypercolumn-like pattern of activation onto a representation layer that preserves relative spatial filter values in...

Collaborative Filtering Recommendation Based on Trust Model with Fused Similar Factor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ye Li

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Recommended system is beneficial to e-commerce sites, which provides customers with product information and recommendations; the recommendation system is currently widely used in many fields. In an era of information explosion, the key challenges of the recommender system is to obtain valid information from the tremendous amount of information and produce high quality recommendations. However, when facing the large mount of information, the traditional collaborative filtering algorithm usually obtains a high degree of sparseness, which ultimately lead to low accuracy recommendations. To tackle this issue, we propose a novel algorithm named Collaborative Filtering Recommendation Based on Trust Model with Fused Similar Factor, which is based on the trust model and is combined with the user similarity. The novel algorithm takes into account the degree of interest overlap between the two users and results in a superior performance to the recommendation based on Trust Model in criteria of Precision, Recall, Diversity and Coverage. Additionally, the proposed model can effectively improve the efficiency of collaborative filtering algorithm and achieve high performance.

Radiation doses in pediatric computed tomography procedures: challenges facing new technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cotelo, E.; Padilla, M.; Dibarboure, L.

2008-01-01

Despite the fact that in recent years an increasing number of radiologists and radiological technologists have been applying radiation dose optimization techniques in paediatric Computed Tomography (CT) examinations, dual and multi -slice CT (MSCT) scanners present a new challenge in Radiation Protection (RP). While on one hand these scanners are provided with Automatic Exposure Control (AEC) devices, dose reduction modes and dose estimation software, on the other hand Quality Control (QC) tests and CT Kerma Index (C) measurements and patient dose estimation present specific difficulties and require changes or adaptations of traditional QC protocols. This implies a major challenge in most developing countries where Quality Assurance Programmes (QAP) have not been implemented yet and there is a shortage in the number of medical physicists This paper analyses clinical and technical protocols as well as patient doses in 204 CT body procedures performed in 154 children. The investigation was carried out in a paediatric reference hospital of Uruguay, where are performed an average of 450 paediatric CT examinations per month in a sole CT dual scanner. Besides, C VOL reported from the scanner display was registered in order to be related with the same dosimetric quantity derived from technical parameters and C values published on tables. Results showed that not all the radiologists applied the same protocol in similar clinical situations delivering unnecessary patient dose with no significant differences in image quality. Moreover, it was found that dose reduction modes represent a drawback in order to estimate patient dose when mA changes according to tissue attenuation, in most cases in each rotation. The study concluded on the importance of QAP that must include education on RP of radiologists and technologists, as well as in the need of medical physicists to perform QC tests and patient dose estimations and measurements. (author)

From local pixel structure to global image super-resolution: a new face hallucination framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yu; Lam, Kin-Man; Qiu, Guoping; Shen, Tingzhi

2011-02-01

We have developed a new face hallucination framework termed from local pixel structure to global image super-resolution (LPS-GIS). Based on the assumption that two similar face images should have similar local pixel structures, the new framework first uses the input low-resolution (LR) face image to search a face database for similar example high-resolution (HR) faces in order to learn the local pixel structures for the target HR face. It then uses the input LR face and the learned pixel structures as priors to estimate the target HR face. We present a three-step implementation procedure for the framework. Step 1 searches the database for K example faces that are the most similar to the input, and then warps the K example images to the input using optical flow. Step 2 uses the warped HR version of the K example faces to learn the local pixel structures for the target HR face. An effective method for learning local pixel structures from an individual face, and an adaptive procedure for fusing the local pixel structures of different example faces to reduce the influence of warping errors, have been developed. Step 3 estimates the target HR face by solving a constrained optimization problem by means of an iterative procedure. Experimental results show that our new method can provide good performances for face hallucination, both in terms of reconstruction error and visual quality; and that it is competitive with existing state-of-the-art methods.

Chinese Characters Elicit Face-Like N170 Inversion Effects

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Man-Ying; Kuo, Bo-Cheng; Cheng, Shih-Kuen

2011-01-01

Recognition of both faces and Chinese characters is commonly believed to rely on configural information. While faces typically exhibit behavioral and N170 inversion effects that differ from non-face stimuli (Rossion, Joyce, Cottrell, & Tarr, 2003), the current study examined whether a similar reliance on configural processing may result in similar…

The Challenges of Malaysian Dry Ports Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jagan Jeevan

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the functions and challenges of dry ports development in Malaysia through 11 face-to-face interviews with dry port stakeholders. The findings reveal that Malaysian dry ports are developed to accelerate national and international business, to activate intermodalism in the nation, to promote regional economic development and to enhance seaport competitiveness. Malaysian dry ports perform the function of transport and logistics, information processing, seaports and value-added services. Challenges facing Malaysian dry ports include insufficient railway tracks, unorganized container planning on the rail deck, highly dependent on single mode of transportation, poor recognition from the seaport community, and competition from localized seaports. This paper further indicates strategies for coping with these challenges and identifies future opportunities for Malaysian dry ports development.

Semi-Supervised Half-Quadratic Nonnegative Matrix Factorization for Face Recognition

KAUST Repository

Alghamdi, Masheal M.

2014-05-01

Face recognition is a challenging problem in computer vision. Difficulties such as slight differences between similar faces of different people, changes in facial expressions, light and illumination condition, and pose variations add extra complications to the face recognition research. Many algorithms are devoted to solving the face recognition problem, among which the family of nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) algorithms has been widely used as a compact data representation method. Different versions of NMF have been proposed. Wang et al. proposed the graph-based semi-supervised nonnegative learning (S2N2L) algorithm that uses labeled data in constructing intrinsic and penalty graph to enforce separability of labeled data, which leads to a greater discriminating power. Moreover the geometrical structure of labeled and unlabeled data is preserved through using the smoothness assumption by creating a similarity graph that conserves the neighboring information for all labeled and unlabeled data. However, S2N2L is sensitive to light changes, illumination, and partial occlusion. In this thesis, we propose a Semi-Supervised Half-Quadratic NMF (SSHQNMF) algorithm that combines the benefits of S2N2L and the robust NMF by the half- quadratic minimization (HQNMF) algorithm.Our algorithm improves upon the S2N2L algorithm by replacing the Frobenius norm with a robust M-Estimator loss function. A multiplicative update solution for our SSHQNMF algorithmis driven using the half- 4 quadratic (HQ) theory. Extensive experiments on ORL, Yale-A and a subset of the PIE data sets for nine M-estimator loss functions for both SSHQNMF and HQNMF algorithms are investigated, and compared with several state-of-the-art supervised and unsupervised algorithms, along with the original S2N2L algorithm in the context of classification, clustering, and robustness against partial occlusion. The proposed algorithm outperformed the other algorithms. Furthermore, SSHQNMF with Maximum Correntropy

Improving Shadow Suppression for Illumination Robust Face Recognition

KAUST Repository

Zhang, Wuming

2017-10-13

2D face analysis techniques, such as face landmarking, face recognition and face verification, are reasonably dependent on illumination conditions which are usually uncontrolled and unpredictable in the real world. An illumination robust preprocessing method thus remains a significant challenge in reliable face analysis. In this paper we propose a novel approach for improving lighting normalization through building the underlying reflectance model which characterizes interactions between skin surface, lighting source and camera sensor, and elaborates the formation of face color appearance. Specifically, the proposed illumination processing pipeline enables the generation of Chromaticity Intrinsic Image (CII) in a log chromaticity space which is robust to illumination variations. Moreover, as an advantage over most prevailing methods, a photo-realistic color face image is subsequently reconstructed which eliminates a wide variety of shadows whilst retaining the color information and identity details. Experimental results under different scenarios and using various face databases show the effectiveness of the proposed approach to deal with lighting variations, including both soft and hard shadows, in face recognition.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: From Face to Face Interaction to a Broader Contextual Understanding of Change

Science.gov (United States)

Jahoda, A.; Dagnan, D.; Kroese, B. Stenfert; Pert, C.; Trower, P.

2009-01-01

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is increasingly used to address the emotional and interpersonal problems of people with ID. There is a limited but promising evidence base supporting this activity. However, these individuals face real and continuing challenges in their lives that have implications for their self and interpersonal perceptions.…

Women in the Teaching Profession: Impacts and Challenges

OpenAIRE

A. M. Sultana; Norhirdawati. M. Zahir; Norzalan. H. Yaacob

2014-01-01

Recently in Malaysia, women's participation in teaching profession has increased. The increasing trend of women’s participation in the teaching profession poses challenges in families, especially in the developing countries like Malaysia. One of these challenges, concerns in balancing their role between family and job responsibility that faced by many women teachers. The purpose of this study is to discover how women teachers' impact on family happiness and the challenges faced by them in bal...

Challenges in war-related thoracic injury faced by French military surgeons in Afghanistan (2009-2013).

Science.gov (United States)

de Lesquen, Henri; Beranger, Fabien; Berbis, Julie; Boddaert, Guillaume; Poichotte, Antoine; Pons, Francois; Avaro, Jean-Philippe

2016-09-01

This study reports the challenges faced by French military surgeons in the management of thoracic injury during the latest Afghanistan war. From January 2009 to April 2013, all of the civilian, French and Coalition casualties admitted to French NATO Combat Support Hospital situated on Kabul were prospectively recorded in the French Military Health Service Registry (OPEX(®)). Only penetrating and blunt thoracic trauma patients were retrospectively included. Eighty-nine casualties were included who were mainly civilian (61%) and men (94%) with a mean age of 27.9 years old. Surgeons dealt with polytraumas (78%), severe injuries (mean Injury Severity Score=39.2) and penetrating wounds (96%) due to explosion in 37%, gunshot in 53% and stabbing in 9%. Most of casualties were first observed or drained (n=56). In this non-operative group more than 40% of casualties needed further actions. In the operative group, Damage Control Thoracotomy (n=22) was performed to stop ongoing bleeding and air leakage and Emergency Department Thoracotomy (n=11) for agonal patient. Casualties suffered from hemothorax (60%), pneumothorax (39%), diaphragmatic (37%), lung (35%), heart or great vessels (20%) injuries. The main actions were diaphragmatic sutures (n=25), lung resections (wedge n=6, lobectomy n=4) and haemostasis (intercostal artery ligation n=3, heart injury repairs n=5, great vessels injury repairs n=5). Overall mortality was 11%. The rate of subsequent surgery was 34%. The analysis of the OPEX(®) registry reflects the thoracic surgical challenges of general (visceral) surgeons serving in combat environment during the latest Afghanistan War. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An opportunity and an imperative: Chapter 11 in United States-Mexican Borderlands: Facing tomorrow's challenges through USGS science

Science.gov (United States)

Updike, Randall G.; Page, William R.

2013-01-01

Along the nearly 3,200 kilometers (almost 2,000 miles) of the United States–Mexican border, we are witnessing the expression of the challenges of the 21st century. The Borderlands have become a microcosm for the entire United States and Mexico; the issues faced in that region are felt throughout both nations—water availability and quality, ecosystem health, natural resource needs, safety from natural hazards, and human socioeconomic well-being. If these issues were not challenging enough, we now recognize that the difficulties of addressing them are exacerbated by the onset of climate change, and as we come to better understand the complexities of the components of these challenge themes, we discover that each part is inextricably intertwined with other overarching issues. Further, because we are a creative and progressive society, we all seek to understand and appreciate the natural environments associated with the Borderlands while at the same time benefitting from the region’s many social and economic values. It is little wonder that we as a society find it increasingly difficult to ask the right questions, much less find suitable answers to the questions we do ask. For the many scientists who have worked in the Borderlands and contributed to the preceding chapters, this circular is a way to describe to the two nations of the region the capabilities the U.S. Geological Survey can provide to assist in that quest for knowledge and understanding in preparation for the future.

Issues and Challenges Facing the Minority Woman Dentist.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinkford, Jeanne C.

1992-01-01

The status of minority women dentists is reviewed, and initiatives to improve it are noted. Issues and challenges for African-American female dentists are outlined, including negative racial/gender stereotypes, lack of advancement opportunities, difficulties in starting practices and securing professional and social support systems, lack of…

Environmental problems facing the electricity industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, S.

1988-01-01

The paper on the environmental problems facing the electricity industry was first presented at the World Electricity Conference, Nov. 1987. According to the author, the biggest immediate environmental challenge the electricity industry faces is the need for the role and importance of nuclear power to be reasserted clearly and unambiguously. The main environmental problems from electricity generation are air pollution and the carbon dioxide/greenhouse issue, and the author thinks that both could be reduced by an increased use of nuclear power as an energy source. (U.K.)

AN EFFICIENT SELF-UPDATING FACE RECOGNITION SYSTEM FOR PLASTIC SURGERY FACE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Devi

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Facial recognition system is fundamental a computer application for the automatic identification of a person through a digitized image or a video source. The major cause for the overall poor performance is related to the transformations in appearance of the user based on the aspects akin to ageing, beard growth, sun-tan etc. In order to overcome the above drawback, Self-update process has been developed in which, the system learns the biometric attributes of the user every time the user interacts with the system and the information gets updated automatically. The procedures of Plastic surgery yield a skilled and endurable means of enhancing the facial appearance by means of correcting the anomalies in the feature and then treating the facial skin with the aim of getting a youthful look. When plastic surgery is performed on an individual, the features of the face undergo reconstruction either locally or globally. But, the changes which are introduced new by plastic surgery remain hard to get modeled by the available face recognition systems and they deteriorate the performances of the face recognition algorithm. Hence the Facial plastic surgery produces changes in the facial features to larger extent and thereby creates a significant challenge to the face recognition system. This work introduces a fresh Multimodal Biometric approach making use of novel approaches to boost the rate of recognition and security. The proposed method consists of various processes like Face segmentation using Active Appearance Model (AAM, Face Normalization using Kernel Density Estimate/ Point Distribution Model (KDE-PDM, Feature extraction using Local Gabor XOR Patterns (LGXP and Classification using Independent Component Analysis (ICA. Efficient techniques have been used in each phase of the FRAS in order to obtain improved results.

Difficulties facing physician mothers in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamazaki, Yuka; Kozono, Yuki; Mori, Ryo; Marui, Eiji

2011-11-01

Despite recent increases in the number of female physicians graduating in Japan, their premature resignations after childbirth are contributing to the acute shortage of physicians. Previous Japanese studies have explored supportive measures in the workplace, but have rarely focused on the specific problems or concerns of physician-mothers. Therefore, this study explored the challenges facing Japanese physician-mothers in efforts to identify solutions for their retention. Open-ended questionnaires were mailed to 646 alumnae of Juntendo University School of Medicine. We asked subjects to describe their opinions about 'The challenges related to female physicians' resignations'. Comments gathered from alumnae who graduated between 6 and 30 years ago and have children were analyzed qualitatively. Overall, 249 physicians returned the questionnaire (response rate 38.5%), and 73 alumnae with children who graduated in the stated time period provided comments. The challenges facing physician-mothers mainly consisted of factors associated with Japanese society, family responsibilities, and work environment. Japanese society epitomized by traditional gender roles heightened stress related to family responsibilities and promoted gender discrimination at work environment. Additionally, changing Japanese society positively influenced working atmosphere and husband's support. Moreover, the introduction of educational curriculums that alleviated traditional gender role was proposed for pre- and post- medical students. Traditional gender roles encourage discrimination by male physicians or work-family conflicts. The problems facing female physicians involve more than just family responsibilities: diminishing the notion of gender role is key to helping retain them in the workforce. © 2011 Tohoku University Medical Press

A long hard road? Urban freight transport challenges facing South Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ittmann, HW

2008-05-01

Full Text Available shown very little interest in the increasingly severe freight transport problems facing urban areas, there is now growing interest in the logistics of collection and delivery services in towns and city centres....

Comparing young people's experience of technology-delivered v. face-to-face mindfulness and relaxation: two-armed qualitative focus group study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tunney, Conall; Cooney, Patricia; Coyle, David; O'Reilly, Gary

2017-04-01

Background The current popularity of mindfulness-based practices has coincided with the increase in access to mobile technology. This has led to many mindfulness apps and programs becoming available, some specifically for children. However, little is known about the experience of engaging with mindfulness through these mediums. Aims To explore children's experience of mindfulness delivered both face-to-face and through a computer game to highlight any differences or similarities. Method A two-armed qualitative focus groups design was used to explore children's experiences. The first arm offered mindfulness exercises in a traditional face-to-face setting with guided meditations. The second arm offered mindfulness exercises through a computer game avatar. Results Themes of relaxation, engagement, awareness, thinking, practice and directing attention emerged from both arms of focus groups. Subthematic codes highlight key differences as well as similarities in the experience of mindfulness. Conclusions These results indicate that mindfulness delivered via technology can offer a rich experience. © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2017.

Reading faces: differential lateral gaze bias in processing canine and human facial expressions in dogs and 4-year-old children.

Science.gov (United States)

Racca, Anaïs; Guo, Kun; Meints, Kerstin; Mills, Daniel S

2012-01-01

Sensitivity to the emotions of others provides clear biological advantages. However, in the case of heterospecific relationships, such as that existing between dogs and humans, there are additional challenges since some elements of the expression of emotions are species-specific. Given that faces provide important visual cues for communicating emotional state in both humans and dogs, and that processing of emotions is subject to brain lateralisation, we investigated lateral gaze bias in adult dogs when presented with pictures of expressive human and dog faces. Our analysis revealed clear differences in laterality of eye movements in dogs towards conspecific faces according to the emotional valence of the expressions. Differences were also found towards human faces, but to a lesser extent. For comparative purpose, a similar experiment was also run with 4-year-old children and it was observed that they showed differential processing of facial expressions compared to dogs, suggesting a species-dependent engagement of the right or left hemisphere in processing emotions.

Reading faces: differential lateral gaze bias in processing canine and human facial expressions in dogs and 4-year-old children.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anaïs Racca

Full Text Available Sensitivity to the emotions of others provides clear biological advantages. However, in the case of heterospecific relationships, such as that existing between dogs and humans, there are additional challenges since some elements of the expression of emotions are species-specific. Given that faces provide important visual cues for communicating emotional state in both humans and dogs, and that processing of emotions is subject to brain lateralisation, we investigated lateral gaze bias in adult dogs when presented with pictures of expressive human and dog faces. Our analysis revealed clear differences in laterality of eye movements in dogs towards conspecific faces according to the emotional valence of the expressions. Differences were also found towards human faces, but to a lesser extent. For comparative purpose, a similar experiment was also run with 4-year-old children and it was observed that they showed differential processing of facial expressions compared to dogs, suggesting a species-dependent engagement of the right or left hemisphere in processing emotions.

"Members of the same club": challenges and decisions faced by US IRBs in identifying and managing conflicts of interest.

Science.gov (United States)

Klitzman, Robert

2011-01-01

Conflicts of interest (COIs) in research have received increasing attention, but many questions arise about how Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) view and approach these. I conducted in-depth interviews of 2 hours each with 46 US IRB chairs, administrators, and members, exploring COI and other issues related to research integrity. I contacted leaders of 60 IRBs (every fourth one among the top 240 institutions by NIH funding), and interviewed IRB leaders from 34 of these institutions (response rate = 55%). Data were analyzed using standard qualitative methods, informed by Grounded Theory. IRBs confront financial and non-financial COIs of PIs, institutions, and IRBs themselves. IRB members may seek to help, or compete with, principal investigators (PIs). Non-financial COI also often appear to be "indirect financial" conflicts based on gain (or loss) not to oneself, but to one's colleagues or larger institution. IRBs faced challenges identifying and managing these COI, and often felt that they could be more effective. IRBs' management of their own potential COI vary, and conflicted members may observe, participate, and/or vote in discussions. Individual IRB members frequently judge for themselves whether to recuse themselves. Challenges arise in addressing these issues, since institutions and PIs need funding, financial information is considered confidential, and COI can be unconscious. This study, the first to explore qualitatively how IRBs confront COIs and probe how IRBs confront non-financial COIs, suggests that IRBs face several types of financial and non-financial COIs, involving themselves, PIs, and institutions, and respond varyingly. These data have critical implications for practice and policy. Disclosure of indirect and non-financial COIs to subjects may not be feasible, partly since IRBs, not PIs, are conflicted. Needs exist to consider guidelines and clarifications concerning when and how, in protocol reviews, IRB members should recuse themselves

New Challenges Facing Small Undergraduate Departments And The Role Of Faculty And Administrators.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Shazly, A. K.

2003-12-01

Small geoscience departments with 5 faculty members or less in undergraduate institutions are facing serious challenges that will have a profound impact on their future, as well as the future of geoscience education. In addition to past and future budget cuts that affect all departments, small departments are more vulnerable to such problems as (i) decreased enrollments in introductory level classes, (ii) small number of geology majors, (iii) small number of graduates per year (iv) lack or paucity of equipment necessary for faculty and student research, (v) limited opportunities for external funding, (vi) need to offer upper division classes on an alternate year basis, (vii) difficulty in recruiting and retaining students, (viii) high teaching loads for faculty, and (ix) designing rigorous curricula based on 120 credit hours with a significant component of liberal art classes. These problems pose new challenges for faculty, department chairs and administrators. Faculty need to design curricula tailored to the need of the job market, without compromising rigor or the quality of the program. New classes/ concentrations in environmental science, hydrogeology and geographical information systems should be offered, and traditional classes in petrology, geophysics and tectonics should be maintained. Classes in Physics, Chemistry and Math should be core requirements. Student involvement in research should be encouraged at an early stage (sophomore/ junior levels). Department chairs need to assign duties in their department carefully to capitalize on the strengths of their faculty: faculty with strong research backgrounds should be helped in their efforts to pursue external funding opportunities, whereas those with strong teaching abilities should be evaluated primarily on their performance in the classroom. Student credit hour production should not be used as a criterion for evaluating faculty. Administrators should evaluate programs and departments based on the success

Individuating Faces and Common Objects Produces Equal Responses in Putative Face Processing Areas in the Ventral Occipitotemporal Cortex

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frank Haist

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Controversy surrounds the proposal that specific human cortical regions in the ventral occipitotemporal cortex, commonly called the fusiform face area (FFA and occipital face area (OFA, are specialized for face processing. Here, we present findings from a fMRI study of identity discrimination of faces and objects that demonstrates the FFA and OFA are equally responsive to processing stimuli at the level of individuals (i.e., individuation, be they human faces or non-face objects. The FFA and OFA were defined via a passive viewing task as regions that produced greater activation to faces relative to non-face stimuli within the middle fusiform gyrus and inferior occipital gyrus. In the individuation task, participants judged whether sequentially presented images of faces, diverse objects, or wristwatches depicted the identical or a different exemplar. All three stimulus types produced equivalent BOLD activation within the FFA and OFA; that is, there was no face-specific or face-preferential processing. Critically, individuation processing did not eliminate an object superiority effect relative to faces within a region more closely linked to object processing in the lateral occipital complex (LOC, suggesting that individuation processes are reasonably specific to the FFA and OFA. Taken together, these findings challenge the prevailing view that the FFA and OFA are face-specific processing regions, demonstrating instead that they function to individuate -- i.e., identify specific individuals -- within a category. These findings have significant implications for understanding the function of a brain region widely believed to play an important role in social cognition.

Professional development for teachers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing: facing the assessment challenge.

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Cawthon, Stephanie

2009-01-01

Teachers of students with low-incidence disabilities, such as students who are deaf or hard of hearing, face unique challenges in putting education policy into practice. The present article presents professional development findings from the Third Annual National Survey of Accommodations and Assessment for Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (Cawthon, Hersh, Kim, & Online Research Lab, in press). A total of 391 participants described professional development they had experienced related to assessment of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Teachers reported greater exposure to topics in school/district sessions and discussion with their colleagues than in their preparation programs. Teaching at a school for the deaf or teaching students in high school were significant predictors of an increased prevalence of professional development opportunities on assessment-related topics for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Modelling the perceptual similarity of facial expressions from image statistics and neural responses.

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Sormaz, Mladen; Watson, David M; Smith, William A P; Young, Andrew W; Andrews, Timothy J

2016-04-01

The ability to perceive facial expressions of emotion is essential for effective social communication. We investigated how the perception of facial expression emerges from the image properties that convey this important social signal, and how neural responses in face-selective brain regions might track these properties. To do this, we measured the perceptual similarity between expressions of basic emotions, and investigated how this is reflected in image measures and in the neural response of different face-selective regions. We show that the perceptual similarity of different facial expressions (fear, anger, disgust, sadness, happiness) can be predicted by both surface and feature shape information in the image. Using block design fMRI, we found that the perceptual similarity of expressions could also be predicted from the patterns of neural response in the face-selective posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS), but not in the fusiform face area (FFA). These results show that the perception of facial expression is dependent on the shape and surface properties of the image and on the activity of specific face-selective regions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Community in Online Higher Education: Challenges and Opportunities

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Arasaratnam-Smith, Lily A.; Northcote, Maria

2017-01-01

Exploring the challenges and opportunities associated with the concepts of community and communication in online higher education, this paper reconsiders the intention to replicate face-to-face learning and teaching strategies in online learning environments. Rather than beginning with the assumption that face-to-face education is the prototype…

Opportunities and challenges in the implementation of Quality Assurance for Auditing in Kosovo

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Edona Perjuci

2012-04-01

Full Text Available This study examines the international requirements of audit quality assurance and focuses on the challenges faced by the newest economy in the region, Kosovo, in implementation of same. This study focuses on the monitoring of compliance by business organizations in Kosovo with the International Financial Reporting Standards and Kosovo Accounting Standards as appropriate , and the impact that this compliance or non compliance has in the economy. In addition this study examines compliance with International Standards of Auditing by auditors and reviews the quality of the audit process in the broader context of the requirements for audit quality assurance. It is found that there are weaknesses in almost all elements of Kosovo’s corporate financial reporting and auditing regime, which is not dissimilar, linked to larger challenges faced by all former Yugoslav economies in transitioning to the new market economic system. The economies of former Yugoslavia face similar challenges in integration with the European Union’s economic and financial system, because of the unique shared characteristics of the former Yugoslav system. In parallel with the economic transitional reforms undertaken within the region, the global financial reporting and auditing system has been changed, with a convergence to International financial reporting standards, international standards of auditing and a new emphasis on audit quality assurance and external oversight mechanisms to sustain it. Though Kosovo is not alone within the region in addressing the reforms required to integrate the economy fully into the EU system, the study reveals both opportunities and challenges unique to Kosovo and makes recommendations for reform.

Fifteen Challenges in Establishing a Multidisciplinary Research Program on eHealth Research in a University Setting: A Case Study.

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Grönqvist, Helena; Olsson, Erik Martin Gustaf; Johansson, Birgitta; Held, Claes; Sjöström, Jonas; Lindahl Norberg, Annika; Hovén, Emma; Sanderman, Robbert; van Achterberg, Theo; von Essen, Louise

2017-05-23

U-CARE is a multidisciplinary eHealth research program that involves the disciplines of caring science, clinical psychology, health economics, information systems, and medical science. It was set up from scratch in a university setting in 2010, funded by a governmental initiative. While establishing the research program, many challenges were faced. Systematic documentation of experiences from establishing new research environments is scarce. The aim of this paper was to describe the challenges of establishing a publicly funded multidisciplinary eHealth research environment. Researchers involved in developing the research program U-CARE identified challenges in the formal documentation and by reflecting on their experience of developing the program. The authors discussed the content and organization of challenges into themes until consensus was reached. The authors identified 15 major challenges, some general to establishing a new research environment and some specific for multidisciplinary eHealth programs. The challenges were organized into 6 themes: Organization, Communication, Implementation, Legislation, Software development, and Multidisciplinarity. Several challenges were faced during the development of the program and several accomplishments were made. By sharing our experience, we hope to help other research groups embarking on a similar journey to be prepared for some of the challenges they are likely to face on their way. ©Helena Grönqvist, Erik Martin Gustaf Olsson, Birgitta Johansson, Claes Held, Jonas Sjöström, Annika Lindahl Norberg, Emma Hovén, Robbert Sanderman, Theo van Achterberg, Louise von Essen. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 23.05.2017.

BLENDED LEARNING: STUDENT PERCEPTION OF FACE-TO-FACE AND ONLINE EFL LESSONS

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Brenda M. Wright

2017-05-01

Full Text Available With the ever-increasing development of technology, online teaching is more readily accepted as a viable component in teaching and learning, and blended learning, the combining of online and face-to-face learning, is becoming commonplace in many higher education institutions. Blended learning is, particularly in developing countries, in its early stages and not without its challenges. Asynchronous online lessons are currently still more prevalent in many areas of South-East Asia, perhaps due to potential difficulty in obtaining strong Internet connections, which may deter educators from synchronous options. Technological media have the potential to broaden the scope of resources available in teaching and to enhance the language learning experience. Although research to date shows some focus on blended learning, literature on distance online teaching seems more prevalent. This study exposed 112 Malaysian undergraduate EFL students' responses to an online lesson as part of an English grammar course, and investigates common student perceptions of the online lesson as compared with face-to-face lessons. Questionnaires using qualitative (Likert scale questions and quantitative (open-ended questions approaches provided data for content analysis to determine common student perceptions, with particular reference to motivation and interest. In general, more students associated in-class lessons with higher motivation and more interest, due to better understanding, valued classroom interaction with the lecturer and peers, and input from the lecturer. Students preferring the online lesson cited speed and convenience of study and flexibility of time and place of study as reasons for their choice. Skilful implementation of online lessons can enhance a language course but should not undermine the value of face-to-face instruction with EFL teachers.

Diversity and Educational Challenges in Oslo and Los Angeles - A Metropolitan Perspective nr 2

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Kamil ÖZERK

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Receiving, accommodation and education of children with immigrant background is one of the challenging issues in almost all the metropolitan areas in many countries. In our study we are exploring the impact of demographic changes on political agendas, legal frames, educational approaches, research findings and student achievement in the field of education of linguistic minorities in Oslo, Norway and Los Angeles, USA. Although there are significant historical and socio economical differences between Los Angeles and Oslo, many of the educational challenges facing the educational policy makers and the linguistic minority students are quite similar.

Facing Global Challenges with Materials Innovation

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Rizzo, Fernando

2017-10-01

The path of society evolution has long been associated with a growing demand for natural resources and continuous environmental degradation. During the last decades, this pace has accelerated considerably, despite the general concern with the legacy being left for the next generations. Looking ahead, the predicted growth of the world population, and the improvement of life conditions in most regions, point to an increasing demand for energy generation, resulting in additional pressure on the Earth's sustainability. Materials have had a key role in decreasing the use of natural resources, by either improving efficiency of existing technologies or enabling the development of radical new ones. The greenhouse effect (CO2 emissions) and the energy crisis are global challenges that can benefit from the development of new materials for the successful implementation of promising technologies and for the imperative replacement of fossil fuels by renewable sources.

Network dynamics of human face perception.

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Cihan Mehmet Kadipasaoglu

Full Text Available Prevailing theories suggests that cortical regions responsible for face perception operate in a serial, feed-forward fashion. Here, we utilize invasive human electrophysiology to evaluate serial models of face-processing via measurements of cortical activation, functional connectivity, and cortico-cortical evoked potentials. We find that task-dependent changes in functional connectivity between face-selective regions in the inferior occipital (f-IOG and fusiform gyrus (f-FG are bidirectional, not feed-forward, and emerge following feed-forward input from early visual cortex (EVC to both of these regions. Cortico-cortical evoked potentials similarly reveal independent signal propagations between EVC and both f-IOG and f-FG. These findings are incompatible with serial models, and support a parallel, distributed network underpinning face perception in humans.

Comparing the role of selective and divided attention in the composite face effect: Insights from Attention Operating Characteristic (AOC) plots and cross-contingency correlations.

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Fitousi, Daniel

2016-03-01

Composite faces combine the top half of one face with the bottom half of another to create a compelling illusion of a new face. Evidence for holistic processing with composite faces comes primarily from a matching procedure in a selective attention task. In the present study, a dual-task approach has been employed to study whether composite faces reflect genuine holistic (i.e., fusion of parts) or non-holistic processing strategies (i.e., switching, resource sharing). This has been accomplished by applying the Attention Operation Characteristic methodology (AOC, Sperling & Melchner, 1978a, 1978b) and cross-contingency correlations (Bonnel & Prinzmetal, 1998) to composite faces. Overall, the results converged on the following conclusions: (a) observers can voluntarily allocate differential amounts of attention to the top and bottom parts in both spatially aligned and misaligned composite faces, (b) the interaction between composite face halves is due to attentional limitations, not due to switching or fusion strategies, and (c) the processing of aligned and misaligned composite faces is quantitatively and qualitatively similar. Taken together, these results challenge the holistic interpretation of the composite face illusion. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy in depressed primary care patients with co-occurring problematic alcohol use: effect of telephone-administered vs. face-to-face treatment-a secondary analysis.

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Kalapatapu, Raj K; Ho, Joyce; Cai, Xuan; Vinogradov, Sophia; Batki, Steven L; Mohr, David C

2014-01-01

This secondary analysis of a larger study compared adherence to telephone-administered cognitive-behavioral therapy (T-CBT) vs. face-to-face CBT and depression outcomes in depressed primary care patients with co-occurring problematic alcohol use. To our knowledge, T-CBT has never been directly compared to face-to-face CBT in such a sample of primary care patients. Participants were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to face-to-face CBT or T-CBT for depression. Participants receiving T-CBT (n = 50) and face-to-face CBT (n = 53) were compared at baseline, end of treatment (week 18), and three-month and six-month follow-ups. Face-to-face CBT and T-CBT groups did not significantly differ in age, sex, ethnicity, marital status, educational level, severity of depression, antidepressant use, and total score on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Face-to-face CBT and T-CBT groups were similar on all treatment adherence outcomes and depression outcomes at all time points. T-CBT and face-to-face CBT had similar treatment adherence and efficacy for the treatment of depression in depressed primary care patients with co-occurring problematic alcohol use. When targeting patients who might have difficulties in accessing care, primary care clinicians may consider both types of CBT delivery when treating depression in patients with co-occurring problematic alcohol use.

Global precedence effects account for individual differences in both face and object recognition performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gerlach, Christian; Starrfelt, Randi

2018-01-01

examine whether global precedence effects, measured by means of non-face stimuli in Navon's paradigm, can also account for individual differences in face recognition and, if so, whether the effect is of similar magnitude for faces and objects. We find evidence that global precedence effects facilitate...... both face and object recognition, and to a similar extent. Our results suggest that both face and object recognition are characterized by a coarse-to-fine temporal dynamic, where global shape information is derived prior to local shape information, and that the efficiency of face and object recognition...

Functional organization of the face-sensitive areas in human occipital-temporal cortex.

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Shao, Hanyu; Weng, Xuchu; He, Sheng

2017-08-15

Human occipital-temporal cortex features several areas sensitive to faces, presumably forming the biological substrate for face perception. To date, there are piecemeal insights regarding the functional organization of these regions. They have come, however, from studies that are far from homogeneous with regard to the regions involved, the experimental design, and the data analysis approach. In order to provide an overall view of the functional organization of the face-sensitive areas, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive study that taps into the pivotal functional properties of all the face-sensitive areas, within the context of the same experimental design, and uses multiple data analysis approaches. In this study, we identified the most robustly activated face-sensitive areas in bilateral occipital-temporal cortices (i.e., AFP, aFFA, pFFA, OFA, pcSTS, pSTS) and systemically compared their regionally averaged activation and multivoxel activation patterns to 96 images from 16 object categories, including faces and non-faces. This condition-rich and single-image analysis approach critically samples the functional properties of a brain region, allowing us to test how two basic functional properties, namely face-category selectivity and face-exemplar sensitivity are distributed among these regions. Moreover, by examining the correlational structure of neural responses to the 96 images, we characterize their interactions in the greater face-processing network. We found that (1) r-pFFA showed the highest face-category selectivity, followed by l-pFFA, bilateral aFFA and OFA, and then bilateral pcSTS. In contrast, bilateral AFP and pSTS showed low face-category selectivity; (2) l-aFFA, l-pcSTS and bilateral AFP showed evidence of face-exemplar sensitivity; (3) r-OFA showed high overall response similarities with bilateral LOC and r-pFFA, suggesting it might be a transitional stage between general and face-selective information processing; (4) r-aFFA showed high

Beyond Faces and Expertise

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Zhao, Mintao; Bülthoff, Heinrich H.; Bülthoff, Isabelle

2016-01-01

Holistic processing—the tendency to perceive objects as indecomposable wholes—has long been viewed as a process specific to faces or objects of expertise. Although current theories differ in what causes holistic processing, they share a fundamental constraint for its generalization: Nonface objects cannot elicit facelike holistic processing in the absence of expertise. Contrary to this prevailing view, here we show that line patterns with salient Gestalt information (i.e., connectedness, closure, and continuity between parts) can be processed as holistically as faces without any training. Moreover, weakening the saliency of Gestalt information in these patterns reduced holistic processing of them, which indicates that Gestalt information plays a crucial role in holistic processing. Therefore, holistic processing can be achieved not only via a top-down route based on expertise, but also via a bottom-up route relying merely on object-based information. The finding that facelike holistic processing can extend beyond the domains of faces and objects of expertise poses a challenge to current dominant theories. PMID:26674129

Adequately Addressing Pediatric Obesity: Challenges Faced by Primary Care Providers.

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Shreve, Marilou; Scott, Allison; Vowell Johnson, Kelly

2017-07-01

To assess the challenges primary care providers encounter when providing counseling for pediatric patients identified as obese. A survey assessed the current challenges and barriers to the screening and treatment of pediatric obesity for providers in northwest Arkansas who provide care to families. The survey consisted of 15 Likert scale questions and 4 open-ended questions. Time, resources, comfort, and cultural issues were reported by providers as the biggest barriers in screening and the treatment of pediatric obesity. All providers reported lack of time as a barrier to providing the care needed for obese children. Cultural barriers of both the provider and client were identified as factors, which negatively affect the care and treatment of obese children. Primary care providers continue to experience challenges when addressing pediatric obesity. In this study, a lack of adequate time to address obesity was identified as the most significant current barrier and may likely be tied to physician resources. Although reimbursement for obesity is increasing, the level of reimbursement does not support the time or the resources needed to treat patients. Many providers reported their patients' cultural view of obesity influenced how they counsel their patients. Increasing providers' knowledge concerning differences in how weight is viewed or valued may assist them in the assessment and care of obese pediatric patients. The challenges identified in previous research continue to limit providers when addressing obesity. Although progress has been made regarding knowledge of guidelines, continuing effort is needed to tackle the remaining challenges. This will allow for earlier identification and intervention, resulting in improved outcomes in pediatric obesity.

Self-esteem Modulates the P3 Component in Response to the Self-face Processing after Priming with Emotional Faces.

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Guan, Lili; Zhao, Yufang; Wang, Yige; Chen, Yujie; Yang, Juan

2017-01-01

The self-face processing advantage (SPA) refers to the research finding that individuals generally recognize their own face faster than another's face; self-face also elicits an enhanced P3 amplitude compared to another's face. It has been suggested that social evaluation threats could weaken the SPA and that self-esteem could be regarded as a threat buffer. However, little research has directly investigated the neural evidence of how self-esteem modulates the social evaluation threat to the SPA. In the current event-related potential study, 27 healthy Chinese undergraduate students were primed with emotional faces (angry, happy, or neutral) and were asked to judge whether the target face (self, friend, and stranger) was familiar or unfamiliar. Electrophysiological results showed that after priming with emotional faces (angry and happy), self-face elicited similar P3 amplitudes to friend-face in individuals with low self-esteem, but not in individuals with high self-esteem. The results suggest that as low self-esteem raises fears of social rejection and exclusion, priming with emotional faces (angry and happy) can weaken the SPA in low self-esteem individuals but not in high self-esteem individuals.

Self-esteem Modulates the P3 Component in Response to the Self-face Processing after Priming with Emotional Faces

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Lili Guan

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The self-face processing advantage (SPA refers to the research finding that individuals generally recognize their own face faster than another’s face; self-face also elicits an enhanced P3 amplitude compared to another’s face. It has been suggested that social evaluation threats could weaken the SPA and that self-esteem could be regarded as a threat buffer. However, little research has directly investigated the neural evidence of how self-esteem modulates the social evaluation threat to the SPA. In the current event-related potential study, 27 healthy Chinese undergraduate students were primed with emotional faces (angry, happy, or neutral and were asked to judge whether the target face (self, friend, and stranger was familiar or unfamiliar. Electrophysiological results showed that after priming with emotional faces (angry and happy, self-face elicited similar P3 amplitudes to friend-face in individuals with low self-esteem, but not in individuals with high self-esteem. The results suggest that as low self-esteem raises fears of social rejection and exclusion, priming with emotional faces (angry and happy can weaken the SPA in low self-esteem individuals but not in high self-esteem individuals.

Teaching Improvisation in Elementary General Music: Facing Fears and Fostering Creativity

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Whitcomb, Rachel

2013-01-01

Improvisation is a vital part of an elementary general music education. While some music teachers successfully include improvisation in music instruction, others have fears and face challenges when attempting improvisational activities in the classroom. This article acknowledges obstacles facing music educators when attempting to incorporate…

Serotonergic modulation of face-emotion recognition

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C.M. Del-Ben

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Facial expressions of basic emotions have been widely used to investigate the neural substrates of emotion processing, but little is known about the exact meaning of subjective changes provoked by perceiving facial expressions. Our assumption was that fearful faces would be related to the processing of potential threats, whereas angry faces would be related to the processing of proximal threats. Experimental studies have suggested that serotonin modulates the brain processes underlying defensive responses to environmental threats, facilitating risk assessment behavior elicited by potential threats and inhibiting fight or flight responses to proximal threats. In order to test these predictions about the relationship between fearful and angry faces and defensive behaviors, we carried out a review of the literature about the effects of pharmacological probes that affect 5-HT-mediated neurotransmission on the perception of emotional faces. The hypothesis that angry faces would be processed as a proximal threat and that, as a consequence, their recognition would be impaired by an increase in 5-HT function was not supported by the results reviewed. In contrast, most of the studies that evaluated the behavioral effects of serotonin challenges showed that increased 5-HT neurotransmission facilitates the recognition of fearful faces, whereas its decrease impairs the same performance. These results agree with the hypothesis that fearful faces are processed as potential threats and that 5-HT enhances this brain processing.

Tracking and recognition face in videos with incremental local sparse representation model

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Wang, Chao; Wang, Yunhong; Zhang, Zhaoxiang

2013-10-01

This paper addresses the problem of tracking and recognizing faces via incremental local sparse representation. First a robust face tracking algorithm is proposed via employing local sparse appearance and covariance pooling method. In the following face recognition stage, with the employment of a novel template update strategy, which combines incremental subspace learning, our recognition algorithm adapts the template to appearance changes and reduces the influence of occlusion and illumination variation. This leads to a robust video-based face tracking and recognition with desirable performance. In the experiments, we test the quality of face recognition in real-world noisy videos on YouTube database, which includes 47 celebrities. Our proposed method produces a high face recognition rate at 95% of all videos. The proposed face tracking and recognition algorithms are also tested on a set of noisy videos under heavy occlusion and illumination variation. The tracking results on challenging benchmark videos demonstrate that the proposed tracking algorithm performs favorably against several state-of-the-art methods. In the case of the challenging dataset in which faces undergo occlusion and illumination variation, and tracking and recognition experiments under significant pose variation on the University of California, San Diego (Honda/UCSD) database, our proposed method also consistently demonstrates a high recognition rate.

An electrophysiological signature of summed similarity in visual working memory.

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van Vugt, Marieke K; Sekuler, Robert; Wilson, Hugh R; Kahana, Michael J

2013-05-01

Summed-similarity models of short-term item recognition posit that participants base their judgments of an item's prior occurrence on that item's summed similarity to the ensemble of items on the remembered list. We examined the neural predictions of these models in 3 short-term recognition memory experiments using electrocorticographic/depth electrode recordings and scalp electroencephalography. On each experimental trial, participants judged whether a test face had been among a small set of recently studied faces. Consistent with summed-similarity theory, participants' tendency to endorse a test item increased as a function of its summed similarity to the items on the just-studied list. To characterize this behavioral effect of summed similarity, we successfully fit a summed-similarity model to individual participant data from each experiment. Using the parameters determined from fitting the summed-similarity model to the behavioral data, we examined the relation between summed similarity and brain activity. We found that 4-9 Hz theta activity in the medial temporal lobe and 2-4 Hz delta activity recorded from frontal and parietal cortices increased with summed similarity. These findings demonstrate direct neural correlates of the similarity computations that form the foundation of several major cognitive theories of human recognition memory. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

The challenges of pharmacy education in Yemen.

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Al-Worafi, Yaser Mohammed

2014-10-15

Pharmacy education in Yemen has faced many challenges since its introduction in the 1980s. Most Yemeni pharmacy schools, especially private ones, are experiencing difficulties in providing the right quality and quantity of clinical educational experiences. Most of these challenges are imbedded in a teaching style and curricula that have failed to respond to the needs of the community and country. The slow shift from traditional drug-dispensing to a patient-centered or focused approach in pharmacy practice requires a fundamental change in the roles and responsibilities of both policymakers and educators. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to discuss the challenges facing the pharmacy education in Yemen; (2) to provided recommendations to overcome challenges.

Face Pareidolia in the Rhesus Monkey.

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Taubert, Jessica; Wardle, Susan G; Flessert, Molly; Leopold, David A; Ungerleider, Leslie G

2017-08-21

Face perception in humans and nonhuman primates is rapid and accurate [1-4]. In the human brain, a network of visual-processing regions is specialized for faces [5-7]. Although face processing is a priority of the primate visual system, face detection is not infallible. Face pareidolia is the compelling illusion of perceiving facial features on inanimate objects, such as the illusory face on the surface of the moon. Although face pareidolia is commonly experienced by humans, its presence in other species is unknown. Here we provide evidence for face pareidolia in a species known to possess a complex face-processing system [8-10]: the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta). In a visual preference task [11, 12], monkeys looked longer at photographs of objects that elicited face pareidolia in human observers than at photographs of similar objects that did not elicit illusory faces. Examination of eye movements revealed that monkeys fixated the illusory internal facial features in a pattern consistent with how they view photographs of faces [13]. Although the specialized response to faces observed in humans [1, 3, 5-7, 14] is often argued to be continuous across primates [4, 15], it was previously unclear whether face pareidolia arose from a uniquely human capacity. For example, pareidolia could be a product of the human aptitude for perceptual abstraction or result from frequent exposure to cartoons and illustrations that anthropomorphize inanimate objects. Instead, our results indicate that the perception of illusory facial features on inanimate objects is driven by a broadly tuned face-detection mechanism that we share with other species. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Challenges faced in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in adolescents and young adults

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Levine SR

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Selena R Levine,1 Jennifer L McNeer,2 Michael S Isakoff1 1Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Hartford, CT, 2Section of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital, Chicago, IL, USA Abstract: The survival rate for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL has dramatically improved over the last 50 years. However, for those in the adolescent and young adult (AYA age-group of 15–30 years with ALL, there has not been the same degree of improvement. Historically, pediatric and adult providers have utilized different treatment approaches based on clinical trials. However, studies that have compared the outcome of AYA patients with ALL treated on pediatric or adult clinical trials have generally shown substantially better outcomes for this patient population treated with the pediatric trials. Additionally, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has been considered as part of intensified therapy for AYA patients with ALL. Herein, we review the outcomes with chemotherapy alone and with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and explore the challenges faced in determining the ideal therapy for the AYA population of patients. Keywords: adolescent young adult oncology, leukemia, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Face Recognition Is Affected by Similarity in Spatial Frequency Range to a Greater Degree Than Within-Category Object Recognition

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Collin, Charles A.; Liu, Chang Hong; Troje, Nikolaus F.; McMullen, Patricia A.; Chaudhuri, Avi

2004-01-01

Previous studies have suggested that face identification is more sensitive to variations in spatial frequency content than object recognition, but none have compared how sensitive the 2 processes are to variations in spatial frequency overlap (SFO). The authors tested face and object matching accuracy under varying SFO conditions. Their results…

Reforms and emerging noncommunicable disease: some challenges facing a conflict-ridden country--the case of the Syrian Arab Republic.

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Sen, Kasturi; Al-Faisal, Waleed

2013-01-01

The past year witnessed considerable turbulence in the Arab world-in this case, Syria, a lower middle-income country with a record of a strong public health infrastructure. This paper explores the current challenges facing its health system from reforms, civil strife and international sanctions all of which we argue have serious implications for population health. The health sector in Syria was little known, and until recently, it was well integrated to provide preventive and specialized care when needed. Regionally, it was one of the few countries ready and capable of addressing the challenges of demographic and epidemiologic transition with a long-standing emphasis on primary care and prevention, unlike most countries of the region. This context has changed dramatically through the recent implementation of reforms and the current civil war. Changes to financing, management and the delivery of health service placed access to services in jeopardy, but now, these are compounded by the destruction from an intractable and violent conflict and international sanctions. This paper explores some of the combined effects of reforms, conflict and sanctions on population health. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Face memory and face recognition in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: A systematic review.

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Romani, Maria; Vigliante, Miriam; Faedda, Noemi; Rossetti, Serena; Pezzuti, Lina; Guidetti, Vincenzo; Cardona, Francesco

2018-06-01

This review focuses on facial recognition abilities in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A systematic review, using PRISMA guidelines, was conducted to identify original articles published prior to May 2017 pertaining to memory, face recognition, affect recognition, facial expression recognition and recall of faces in children and adolescents with ADHD. The qualitative synthesis based on different studies shows a particular focus of the research on facial affect recognition without paying similar attention to the structural encoding of facial recognition. In this review, we further investigate facial recognition abilities in children and adolescents with ADHD, providing synthesis of the results observed in the literature, while detecting face recognition tasks used on face processing abilities in ADHD and identifying aspects not yet explored. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

4D Unconstrained Real-time Face Recognition Using a Commodity Depthh Camera

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schimbinschi, Florin; Wiering, Marco; Mohan, R.E.; Sheba, J.K.

2012-01-01

Robust unconstrained real-time face recognition still remains a challenge today. The recent addition to the market of lightweight commodity depth sensors brings new possibilities for human-machine interaction and therefore face recognition. This article accompanies the reader through a succinct

“Members of the Same Club”: Challenges and Decisions Faced by US IRBs in Identifying and Managing Conflicts of Interest

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Klitzman, Robert

2011-01-01

Conflicts of interest (COIs) in research have received increasing attention, but many questions arise about how Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) view and approach these. Methods I conducted in-depth interviews of 2 hours each with 46 US IRB chairs, administrators, and members, exploring COI and other issues related to research integrity. I contacted leaders of 60 IRBs (every fourth one among the top 240 institutions by NIH funding), and interviewed IRB leaders from 34 of these institutions (response rate = 55%). Data were analyzed using standard qualitative methods, informed by Grounded Theory. Results IRBs confront financial and non-financial COIs of PIs, institutions, and IRBs themselves. IRB members may seek to help, or compete with, principal investigators (PIs). Non-financial COI also often appear to be “indirect financial” conflicts based on gain (or loss) not to oneself, but to one's colleagues or larger institution. IRBs faced challenges identifying and managing these COI, and often felt that they could be more effective. IRBs' management of their own potential COI vary, and conflicted members may observe, participate, and/or vote in discussions. Individual IRB members frequently judge for themselves whether to recuse themselves. Challenges arise in addressing these issues, since institutions and PIs need funding, financial information is considered confidential, and COI can be unconscious. Conclusions This study, the first to explore qualitatively how IRBs confront COIs and probe how IRBs confront non-financial COIs, suggests that IRBs face several types of financial and non-financial COIs, involving themselves, PIs, and institutions, and respond varyingly. These data have critical implications for practice and policy. Disclosure of indirect and non-financial COIs to subjects may not be feasible, partly since IRBs, not PIs, are conflicted. Needs exist to consider guidelines and clarifications concerning when and how, in protocol reviews, IRB

Social, Cultural, and Environmental Challenges Faced by Children on Antiretroviral Therapy in Zimbabwe: a Mixed-Method Study

Science.gov (United States)

Macherera, Margaret; Moyo, Lindani; Ncube, Mkhanyiseli; Gumbi, Angella

2012-01-01

Objectives Despite the advent of antiretroviral therapy (ART), many children, particularly in the rural communities of Zimbabwe, remain vulnerable. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors and challenges facing children on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Brunapeg area of Mangwe District, Zimbabwe. Methods A mixed-method approach involving interviewer-guided focus group discussions and piloted semi-structured questionnaires was utilized to collect data from different key population groups. The data obtained were analyzed through content coding procedures based on a set of predetermined themes of interest. Results A number of challenges emerged as barriers to the success of antiretroviral therapy for children. Primary care givers were less informed about HIV and AIDS issues for people having direct impact on the success of antiretroviral therapy in children whilst some were found to be taking the antiretroviral drugs meant for the children. It also emerged that some primary care givers were either too young or too old to care for the children while others had failed to disclose to the children why they frequently visited the Opportunistic Infections (OI) clinic. Most primary care givers were not the biological parents of the affected children. Other challenges included inadequate access to health services, inadequate food and nutrition and lack of access to clean water, good hygiene and sanitation. The lack of community support and stigma and discrimination affected their school attendance and hospital visits. All these factors contributed to non-adherence to antiretroviral drugs. Conclusions and Public Health Implications Children on ART in rural communities in Zimbabwe remain severely compromised and have unique problems that need multi-intervention strategies both at policy and programmatic levels. Effective mitigating measures must be fully established and implemented in rural communities of developing countries in the fight for universal

Social, Cultural, and Environmental Challenges Faced by Children on Antiretroviral Therapy in Zimbabwe: a Mixed Method Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margaret Macherera, MSc

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Objectives:Despite the advent of antiretroviral therapy (ART, many children, particularly in the rural communities of Zimbabwe, remain vulnerable. The purpose of this study was to determine the factors and challenges facing children on antiretroviral therapy (ART in Brunapeg area of Mangwe District, Zimbabwe.Methods:A mixed-method approach involving interviewer-guided focus group discussions and piloted semi-structured questionnaires was utilized to collect data from different key population groups. The data obtained were analyzed through content coding procedures based on a set of predetermined themes of interest.Results:A number of challenges emerged as barriers to the success of antiretroviral therapy for children. Primary care givers were less informed about HIV and AIDS issues for people having direct impact on the success of antiretroviral therapy in children whilst some were found to be taking the antiretroviral drugs meant for the children. It also emerged that some primary care givers were either too young or too old to care for the children while others had failed to disclose to the children why they frequently visited the Opportunistic Infections (OI clinic. Most primary care givers were not the biological parents of the affected children. Other challenges included inadequate access to health services, inadequate food and nutrition and lack of access to clean water, good hygiene and sanitation. The lack of community support and stigma and discrimination affected their school attendance and hospital visits. All these factors contributed to non-adherence to antiretroviral drugs.Conclusions and Public Health Implications:Children on ART in rural communities in Zimbabwe remain severely compromised and have unique problems that need multi-intervention strategies both at policy and programmatic levels. Effective mitigating measures must be fully established and implemented in rural communities of developing countries in the fight for

A Survey of 2D Face Recognition Techniques

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Mejda Chihaoui

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Despite the existence of various biometric techniques, like fingerprints, iris scan, as well as hand geometry, the most efficient and more widely-used one is face recognition. This is because it is inexpensive, non-intrusive and natural. Therefore, researchers have developed dozens of face recognition techniques over the last few years. These techniques can generally be divided into three categories, based on the face data processing methodology. There are methods that use the entire face as input data for the proposed recognition system, methods that do not consider the whole face, but only some features or areas of the face and methods that use global and local face characteristics simultaneously. In this paper, we present an overview of some well-known methods in each of these categories. First, we expose the benefits of, as well as the challenges to the use of face recognition as a biometric tool. Then, we present a detailed survey of the well-known methods by expressing each method’s principle. After that, a comparison between the three categories of face recognition techniques is provided. Furthermore, the databases used in face recognition are mentioned, and some results of the applications of these methods on face recognition databases are presented. Finally, we highlight some new promising research directions that have recently appeared.

Polycentrism in Global Health Governance Scholarship Comment on "Four Challenges That Global Health Networks Face".

Science.gov (United States)

Tosun, Jale

2017-05-23

Drawing on an in-depth analysis of eight global health networks, a recent essay in this journal argued that global health networks face four challenges to their effectiveness: problem definition, positioning, coalition-building, and governance. While sharing the argument of the essay concerned, in this commentary, we argue that these analytical concepts can be used to explicate a concept that has implicitly been used in global health governance scholarship for quite a few years. While already prominent in the discussion of climate change governance, for instance, global health governance scholarship could make progress by looking at global health governance as being polycentric. Concisely, polycentric forms of governance mix scales, mechanisms, and actors. Drawing on the essay, we propose a polycentric approach to the study of global health governance that incorporates coalitionbuilding tactics, internal governance and global political priority as explanatory factors. © 2018 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Dissociated neural basis of two behavioral hallmarks of holistic face processing: The whole-part effect and composite-face effect.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jin; Huang, Lijie; Song, Yiying; Liu, Jia

2017-07-28

It has been long proposed that our extraordinary face recognition ability stems from holistic face processing. Two widely-used behavioral hallmarks of holistic face processing are the whole-part effect (WPE) and composite-face effect (CFE). However, it remains unknown whether these two effects reflect similar or different aspects of holistic face processing. Here we investigated this question by examining whether the WPE and CFE involved shared or distinct neural substrates in a large sample of participants (N=200). We found that the WPE and CFE showed hemispheric dissociation in the fusiform face area (FFA), that is, the WPE was correlated with face selectivity in the left FFA, while the CFE was correlated with face selectivity in the right FFA. Further, the correlation between the WPE and face selectivity was largely driven by the FFA response to faces, whereas the association between the CFE and face selectivity resulted from suppressed response to objects in the right FFA. Finally, we also observed dissociated correlation patterns of the WPE and CFE in other face-selective regions and across the whole brain. These results suggest that the WPE and CFE may reflect different aspects of holistic face processing, which shed new light on the behavioral dissociations of these two effects demonstrated in literature. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cultural-social and human resource challenges facing development of information technology in Iran's higher education in viewpoint of graduate students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Rahmanpoor

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of the this study was survey of cultural-social and human recourses  challenges facing development of information technology in higher education in Iran. The population of this study was all graduate students studying in the Department of the State University in academic year 2010-2011. In first stage, Tehran, Allameh-Tabatabaee, San’ati-Sharif, Isfahan, Shiraz and Kurdistan Universities were selected as samples. Among these universities, 460 patients were randomly selected in proportion. Data were collected via a questionnaire. Reliability using Cronbach's alpha coefficient respectively 0/94, and its validity was confirmed by several professors. The data were calculated using SPSS statistical software and then analyzed. In Descriptive statistics level, indicators of frequency, percentage and standard deviation, and in inferential statistics level, T test, ANOVA and post hoc test was used. The results showed that in cultural-social  dimension including the important challenges were the high ratio of computers to students, poor students searching spirit, and lack of English language teachers and students. In human resource dimension are also unfamiliar of the students with the how access to information in databases, shortage or lack of professional expertise in information technology, faculty and administrators do not understand the capabilities of information technology, were most important challenges Information technology in Iran's higher education.

Face recognition in the thermal infrared domain

Science.gov (United States)

Kowalski, M.; Grudzień, A.; Palka, N.; Szustakowski, M.

2017-10-01

Biometrics refers to unique human characteristics. Each unique characteristic may be used to label and describe individuals and for automatic recognition of a person based on physiological or behavioural properties. One of the most natural and the most popular biometric trait is a face. The most common research methods on face recognition are based on visible light. State-of-the-art face recognition systems operating in the visible light spectrum achieve very high level of recognition accuracy under controlled environmental conditions. Thermal infrared imagery seems to be a promising alternative or complement to visible range imaging due to its relatively high resistance to illumination changes. A thermal infrared image of the human face presents its unique heat-signature and can be used for recognition. The characteristics of thermal images maintain advantages over visible light images, and can be used to improve algorithms of human face recognition in several aspects. Mid-wavelength or far-wavelength infrared also referred to as thermal infrared seems to be promising alternatives. We present the study on 1:1 recognition in thermal infrared domain. The two approaches we are considering are stand-off face verification of non-moving person as well as stop-less face verification on-the-move. The paper presents methodology of our studies and challenges for face recognition systems in the thermal infrared domain.

"I don't like talking about it because that's not who I am": Challenges children face during epilepsy-related family communication.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Toole, S; Lambert, V; Gallagher, P; Shahwan, A; Austin, J K

2016-09-01

Childhood epilepsy not only significantly impacts a child's social relationships and psychosocial wellbeing, but it can also cause disruptions in family relations. Children living with epilepsy often rely on parental figures for guidance in relation to their condition. A paucity of research has examined the challenges for children when communicating about epilepsy with parental figures. This qualitative study explored the challenges faced by children when talking about epilepsy with their parent(s). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 29 children (aged 6-16 years) living with epilepsy. Participants were recruited from a neurology department of a major pediatric hospital and from a national epilepsy association. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed. Findings revealed four themes: communication impeding normalcy, parental overprotection, parental reactions to epilepsy-related communication, and restriction of activities as a consequence of epilepsy-related communication. The study highlights the need for a greater understanding of parent-child dialogue surrounding epilepsy and where challenges lie for children in conversing about their condition. Parents and health care professionals play a pivotal role in facilitating an environment where children feel comfortable talking about epilepsy. This information will be instrumental in the development of a communication-based intervention for families living with epilepsy. © The Author(s) 2016.

Facing the truth: An appraisal of the potential contributions ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Facing the truth: An appraisal of the potential contributions, paradoxes and challenges of implementing the United Nations conventions on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) in Nigeria.

Challenges facing the veterinary profession in Ireland: 3. emergency and casualty slaughter certification.

Science.gov (United States)

Magalhães-Sant'Ana, Manuel; More, Simon J; Morton, David B; Hanlon, Alison J

2017-01-01

Veterinarians are faced with significant conflicts of interest when issuing certificates for the transport and slaughter of acutely injured and casualty livestock. In a recent Policy Delphi study, emergency and casualty slaughter certification was a key concern identified by veterinary professionals in Ireland. In this case study (the third in a series of three resulting from a research workshop exploring challenges facing the veterinary profession in Ireland; the other two case studies investigate clinical veterinary services and the on-farm use of veterinary antimicrobials), we aim to provide a value-based reflection on the constraints and opportunities for best practice in emergency and casualty slaughter certification in Ireland. Using a qualitative focus group approach, this study gathered evidence from relevant stakeholders, namely a representative from the regulatory body, local authority veterinarians with research experience in emergency slaughter, an animal welfare research scientist, official veterinarians from the competent authority, a private veterinary practitioner, and a member of a farming organisation. Results revealed a conflict between the responsibility of private veterinary practitioners (PVPs) to safeguard the welfare of acutely injured bovines on-farm and the client's commercial concerns. As a consequence, some PVPs may feel under pressure to certify, for example, an acutely injured animal for casualty slaughter instead of recommending either on-farm emergency slaughter or disposal by the knackery service. Among Official Veterinarians, there are concerns about the pressure within processing plants to accept acutely injured livestock as casualty animals. Confusion pertaining to legislation and definition of fitness to travel also contribute to these dilemmas. Conflicts of interest arise due to the gap between governance and provision to facilitate on-farm emergency slaughter of livestock. Increased availability and acceptance of on

Offshore northern Europe, the challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergseth, S.

1996-01-01

This paper relates to challenges of the offshore activity in the North Sea. It is appropriate to address these challenges in the context of generating values through efficient management of resources, markets, safety and technology, as the challenges lie therein. The petroleum industry is built to turn natural resources into market value, assuring broad benefits to stake holders and shareholders. In the following, the challenges facing the industry the industry offshore Northern Europe is examined on this background

Advanced nuclear plants: Meeting the economic challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Redding, J.R.; MacGregor, P.R.

1993-01-01

As the end of the century draws closer, utilities all over the world face a daunting challenge. Forecasts, such as those prepared by General Electric show a dramatic increase in the need for additional electrical generating capacity (>1000 GW for the world from 1996 through 2006). In the case of the United States, such increases are almost one-third of existing capacity. Furthermore, this capacity must be environmentally benign to satisfy mounting concerns over the environmental impact of burning fossil fuels. This paper discusses economic analyses, similar to least-cost option studies, conducted by General Electric to determine the cost levels that new, advanced nuclear plants must meet to compete with other available generating options

Multi-Branch Fully Convolutional Network for Face Detection

KAUST Repository

Bai, Yancheng; Ghanem, Bernard

2017-01-01

Face detection is a fundamental problem in computer vision. It is still a challenging task in unconstrained conditions due to significant variations in scale, pose, expressions, and occlusion. In this paper, we propose a multi-branch fully

Neural synchronization during face-to-face communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Jing; Dai, Bohan; Peng, Danling; Zhu, Chaozhe; Liu, Li; Lu, Chunming

2012-11-07

Although the human brain may have evolutionarily adapted to face-to-face communication, other modes of communication, e.g., telephone and e-mail, increasingly dominate our modern daily life. This study examined the neural difference between face-to-face communication and other types of communication by simultaneously measuring two brains using a hyperscanning approach. The results showed a significant increase in the neural synchronization in the left inferior frontal cortex during a face-to-face dialog between partners but none during a back-to-back dialog, a face-to-face monologue, or a back-to-back monologue. Moreover, the neural synchronization between partners during the face-to-face dialog resulted primarily from the direct interactions between the partners, including multimodal sensory information integration and turn-taking behavior. The communicating behavior during the face-to-face dialog could be predicted accurately based on the neural synchronization level. These results suggest that face-to-face communication, particularly dialog, has special neural features that other types of communication do not have and that the neural synchronization between partners may underlie successful face-to-face communication.

Power distribution in the face of the new energy paradigm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desama, Claude

2012-01-01

After the challenge of the liberalization of the domestic market of the energy which put an end to the vertically integrated structures, the managers of the distribution networks must now face the energy transition i.e. to substitution from a supply from electricity centralized by intermittent productions related to renewable energies. The article approaches the possible solutions to face this new energy paradigm

Menstrual Hygiene, Management, and Waste Disposal: Practices and Challenges Faced by Girls/Women of Developing Countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaur, Rajanbir; Kaur, Kanwaljit; Kaur, Rajinder

2018-01-01

Menstruation and menstrual practices still face many social, cultural, and religious restrictions which are a big barrier in the path of menstrual hygiene management. In many parts of the country especially in rural areas girls are not prepared and aware about menstruation so they face many difficulties and challenges at home, schools, and work places. While reviewing literature, we found that little, inaccurate, or incomplete knowledge about menstruation is a great hindrance in the path of personal and menstrual hygiene management. Girls and women have very less or no knowledge about reproductive tract infections caused due to ignorance of personal hygiene during menstruation time. In rural areas, women do not have access to sanitary products or they know very little about the types and method of using them or are unable to afford such products due to high cost. So, they mostly rely on reusable cloth pads which they wash and use again. Needs and requirements of the adolescent girls and women are ignored despite the fact that there are major developments in the area of water and sanitation. Women manage menstruation differently when they are at home or outside; at homes, they dispose of menstrual products in domestic wastes and in public toilets and they flush them in the toilets without knowing the consequences of choking. So, there should be a need to educate and make them aware about the environmental pollution and health hazards associated with them. Implementation of modern techniques like incineration can help to reduce the waste. Also, awareness should be created to emphasize the use of reusable sanitary products or the natural sanitary products made from materials like banana fibre, bamboo fibre, sea sponges, water hyacinth, and so on.

Menstrual Hygiene, Management, and Waste Disposal: Practices and Challenges Faced by Girls/Women of Developing Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rajanbir Kaur

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Menstruation and menstrual practices still face many social, cultural, and religious restrictions which are a big barrier in the path of menstrual hygiene management. In many parts of the country especially in rural areas girls are not prepared and aware about menstruation so they face many difficulties and challenges at home, schools, and work places. While reviewing literature, we found that little, inaccurate, or incomplete knowledge about menstruation is a great hindrance in the path of personal and menstrual hygiene management. Girls and women have very less or no knowledge about reproductive tract infections caused due to ignorance of personal hygiene during menstruation time. In rural areas, women do not have access to sanitary products or they know very little about the types and method of using them or are unable to afford such products due to high cost. So, they mostly rely on reusable cloth pads which they wash and use again. Needs and requirements of the adolescent girls and women are ignored despite the fact that there are major developments in the area of water and sanitation. Women manage menstruation differently when they are at home or outside; at homes, they dispose of menstrual products in domestic wastes and in public toilets and they flush them in the toilets without knowing the consequences of choking. So, there should be a need to educate and make them aware about the environmental pollution and health hazards associated with them. Implementation of modern techniques like incineration can help to reduce the waste. Also, awareness should be created to emphasize the use of reusable sanitary products or the natural sanitary products made from materials like banana fibre, bamboo fibre, sea sponges, water hyacinth, and so on.

Coping in old age with extreme childhood trauma: aging Holocaust survivors and their offspring facing new challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Fridman, Ayala; Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J; Sagi-Schwartz, Abraham; Van IJzendoorn, Marinus H

2011-03-01

The Holocaust has become an iconic example of immense human-made catastrophes, and survivors are now coping with normal aging processes. Childhood trauma may leave the survivors more vulnerable when they are facing stress related to old age, whereas their offspring might have a challenging role of protecting their own parents from further pain. Here we examine the psychological adaptation of Holocaust survivors and their offspring in light of these new challenges, examining satisfaction with life, mental health, cognitive abilities, dissociative symptoms, and physical health. Careful matching of female Holocaust survivors and comparison subjects living in Israel was employed to form a case-control study design with two generations, including four groups: 32 elderly female Holocaust survivors and 47 daughters, and 33 elderly women in the comparison group, and 32 daughters (total N = 174). Participants completed several measures of mental and physical health, and their cognitive functioning was examined. The current study is a follow-up of a previous study conducted 11 years ago with the same participants. Holocaust survivors showed more dissociative symptomatology (odds = 2.39) and less satisfaction with their life (odds = 2.79) as compared to a matched group. Nonetheless, adult offspring of Holocaust survivors showed no differences in their physical, psychological, and cognitive functioning as compared to matched controls. Holocaust survivors still display posttraumatic stress symptoms almost 70 years after the trauma, whereas no intergenerational transmission of trauma was found among the second generation.

Real-time Face Detection using Skin Color Model

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LU Yao-xin; LIU Zhi-Qiang; ZHU Xiang-hua

2004-01-01

This paper presents a new face detection approach to real-time applications, which is based on the skin color model and the morphological filtering. First the non-skin color pixels of the input image are removed based on the skin color model in the YCrCb chrominance space, from which we extract candidate human face regions. Then a mathematical morphological filter is used to remove noisy regions and fill the holes in the candidate skin color regions. We adopt the similarity between the human face features and the candidate face regions to locate the face regions in the original image. We have implemented the algorithm in our smart media system. The experiment results show that this system is effective in real-time applications.

Innovation in the face of future challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albistur, F. X.

2006-01-01

The Chairman of the Senate Commission for Industry. Tourism and Commerce emphasises the legitimate ambition felt by the citizens of all democratic States with respect to safety and underlines his trust in the regulatory body. He analyses the interesting example of the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council, true reflection of the democracy achieved in the country, from the standpoint of its history, the functions that have been added to its realm of competence in recent years environmental radiological surveillance, intervention in emergencies and activities at non-regulated facilities- and the need for it to adapt, within a framework of overall consensus, to improve its response to future challenges and to the goal of promoting credibility and forging a closer relationship with the public. (Author)

Age synthesis and estimation via faces: a survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Yun; Guo, Guodong; Huang, Thomas S

2010-11-01

Human age, as an important personal trait, can be directly inferred by distinct patterns emerging from the facial appearance. Derived from rapid advances in computer graphics and machine vision, computer-based age synthesis and estimation via faces have become particularly prevalent topics recently because of their explosively emerging real-world applications, such as forensic art, electronic customer relationship management, security control and surveillance monitoring, biometrics, entertainment, and cosmetology. Age synthesis is defined to rerender a face image aesthetically with natural aging and rejuvenating effects on the individual face. Age estimation is defined to label a face image automatically with the exact age (year) or the age group (year range) of the individual face. Because of their particularity and complexity, both problems are attractive yet challenging to computer-based application system designers. Large efforts from both academia and industry have been devoted in the last a few decades. In this paper, we survey the complete state-of-the-art techniques in the face image-based age synthesis and estimation topics. Existing models, popular algorithms, system performances, technical difficulties, popular face aging databases, evaluation protocols, and promising future directions are also provided with systematic discussions.

An investigation into the challenges facing the future provision of continuing professional development for allied health professionals in a changing healthcare environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibbs, Vivien

2011-01-01

This paper outlines current challenges facing healthcare providers and education providers in trying to ensure Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) are fit for practice, in a climate driven by financial constraints and service improvement directives from the Department of Health (DH). Research was undertaken in 2009 to investigate the current provision of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in the southwest region of England. The purpose was to define exactly what problems existed with this provision, and to propose changes which could be implemented in order to ensure that the provision meets the needs of stakeholders in future years.

Towards automatic forensic face recognition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ali, Tauseef; Spreeuwers, Lieuwe Jan; Veldhuis, Raymond N.J.

2011-01-01

In this paper we present a methodology and experimental results for evidence evaluation in the context of forensic face recognition. In forensic applications, the matching score (hereafter referred to as similarity score) from a biometric system must be represented as a Likelihood Ratio (LR). In our

Wise reasoning in the face of everyday life challenges

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Grossmann, Igor; Gerlach, Tanja M.; Denissen, J.J.A.

2016-01-01

How stable vs. dynamic is wisdom in daily life? We conducted a daily diary study of wise reasoning (WR) by recording people's reflections on daily challenges in terms of three facets: intellectual humility, self-transcendence, and consideration of others' perspectives/compromise. We observed

Health Professionals Facing Burnout: What Do We Know about Nursing Managers?

Science.gov (United States)

Heeb, Jean-Luc; Haberey-Knuessi, Véronique

2014-01-01

Objective. To address the degree of burnout in nursing managers in hospitals of Western Switzerland, including comparison with medical managers, and its relationship with personal, work-related, and organizational characteristics. Methods. Statistical analysis of the scores of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey from 257 nursing managers who answered a standardized electronic questionnaire. Results. Nursing managers showed a low degree of burnout, which was similar to that of medical managers. Most of them had a low level of emotional exhaustion and a low level of depersonalization, while personal accomplishment was contrasted. Only 2.3% had a high degree of burnout. These findings challenge the hypothesis of high stress being associated with high burnout, as nursing managers can be supposed to have a highly demanding job due to their intermediary position within the hospital hierarchy. Variations of burnout by personal, work-related, and organizational characteristics mainly concerned emotional exhaustion. Conclusion. Though nursing managers face a highly demanding job, they may benefit from resources (including coping strategies and empowerment) which help counterbalance job stress. Unequal distribution of resources may play a central role when facing burnout.

Health Professionals Facing Burnout: What Do We Know about Nursing Managers?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Luc Heeb

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. To address the degree of burnout in nursing managers in hospitals of Western Switzerland, including comparison with medical managers, and its relationship with personal, work-related, and organizational characteristics. Methods. Statistical analysis of the scores of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey from 257 nursing managers who answered a standardized electronic questionnaire. Results. Nursing managers showed a low degree of burnout, which was similar to that of medical managers. Most of them had a low level of emotional exhaustion and a low level of depersonalization, while personal accomplishment was contrasted. Only 2.3% had a high degree of burnout. These findings challenge the hypothesis of high stress being associated with high burnout, as nursing managers can be supposed to have a highly demanding job due to their intermediary position within the hospital hierarchy. Variations of burnout by personal, work-related, and organizational characteristics mainly concerned emotional exhaustion. Conclusion. Though nursing managers face a highly demanding job, they may benefit from resources (including coping strategies and empowerment which help counterbalance job stress. Unequal distribution of resources may play a central role when facing burnout.

Robust Face Recognition by Computing Distances from Multiple Histograms of Oriented Gradients

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Karaaba, Mahir; Surinta, Olarik; Schomaker, Lambertus; Wiering, Marco

2015-01-01

The Single Sample per Person Problem is a challenging problem for face recognition algorithms. Patch-based methods have obtained some promising results for this problem. In this paper, we propose a new face recognition algorithm that is based on a combination of different histograms of oriented

Recognizing the same face in different contexts: Testing within-person face recognition in typical development and in autism.

Science.gov (United States)

Neil, Louise; Cappagli, Giulia; Karaminis, Themelis; Jenkins, Rob; Pellicano, Elizabeth

2016-03-01

Unfamiliar face recognition follows a particularly protracted developmental trajectory and is more likely to be atypical in children with autism than those without autism. There is a paucity of research, however, examining the ability to recognize the same face across multiple naturally varying images. Here, we investigated within-person face recognition in children with and without autism. In Experiment 1, typically developing 6- and 7-year-olds, 8- and 9-year-olds, 10- and 11-year-olds, 12- to 14-year-olds, and adults were given 40 grayscale photographs of two distinct male identities (20 of each face taken at different ages, from different angles, and in different lighting conditions) and were asked to sort them by identity. Children mistook images of the same person as images of different people, subdividing each individual into many perceived identities. Younger children divided images into more perceived identities than adults and also made more misidentification errors (placing two different identities together in the same group) than older children and adults. In Experiment 2, we used the same procedure with 32 cognitively able children with autism. Autistic children reported a similar number of identities and made similar numbers of misidentification errors to a group of typical children of similar age and ability. Fine-grained analysis using matrices revealed marginal group differences in overall performance. We suggest that the immature performance in typical and autistic children could arise from problems extracting the perceptual commonalities from different images of the same person and building stable representations of facial identity. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A retrospective look at replacing face-to-face embryology instruction with online lectures in a human anatomy course.

Science.gov (United States)

Beale, Elmus G; Tarwater, Patrick M; Lee, Vaughan H

2014-01-01

Embryology is integrated into the Clinically Oriented Anatomy course at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine. Before 2008, the same instructor presented embryology in 13 face-to-face lectures distributed by organ systems throughout the course. For the 2008 and 2009 offerings of the course, a hybrid embryology instruction model with four face-to-face classes that supplemented online recorded lectures was used. One instructor delivered the lectures face-to-face in 2007 and by online videos in 2008-2009, while a second instructor provided the supplemental face-to-face classes in 2008-2009. The same embryology learning objectives and selected examination questions were used for each of the three years. This allowed direct comparison of learning outcomes, as measured by examination performance, for students receiving only face-to-face embryology instruction versus the hybrid approach. Comparison of the face-to-face lectures to the hybrid approach showed no difference in overall class performance on embryology questions that were used all three years. Moreover, there was no differential effect of the delivery method on the examination scores for bottom quartile students. Students completed an end-of-course survey to assess their opinions. They rated the two forms of delivery similarly on a six-point Likert scale and reported that face-to-face lectures have the advantage of allowing them to interact with the instructor, whereas online lectures could be paused, replayed, and viewed at any time. These experiences suggest the need for well-designed prospective studies to determine whether online lectures can be used to enhance the efficacy of embryology instruction. © 2013 American Association of Anatomists.

Abnormal GABAergic function and face processing in schizophrenia: A pharmacologic-fMRI study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tso, Ivy F; Fang, Yu; Phan, K Luan; Welsh, Robert C; Taylor, Stephan F

2015-10-01

The involvement of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system in schizophrenia is suggested by postmortem studies and the common use of GABA receptor-potentiating agents in treatment. In a recent study, we used a benzodiazepine challenge to demonstrate abnormal GABAergic function during processing of negative visual stimuli in schizophrenia. This study extended this investigation by mapping GABAergic mechanisms associated with face processing and social appraisal in schizophrenia using a benzodiazepine challenge. Fourteen stable, medicated schizophrenia/schizoaffective patients (SZ) and 13 healthy controls (HC) underwent functional MRI using the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) technique while they performed the Socio-emotional Preference Task (SePT) on emotional face stimuli ("Do you like this face?"). Participants received single-blinded intravenous saline and lorazepam (LRZ) in two separate sessions separated by 1-3weeks. Both SZ and HC recruited medial prefrontal cortex/anterior cingulate during the SePT, relative to gender identification. A significant drug by group interaction was observed in the medial occipital cortex, such that SZ showed increased BOLD signal to LRZ challenge, while HC showed an expected decrease of signal; the interaction did not vary by task. The altered BOLD response to LRZ challenge in SZ was significantly correlated with increased negative affect across multiple measures. The altered response to LRZ challenge suggests that abnormal face processing and negative affect in SZ are associated with altered GABAergic function in the visual cortex, underscoring the role of impaired visual processing in socio-emotional deficits in schizophrenia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Big data challenges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bachlechner, Daniel; Leimbach, Timo

2016-01-01

Although reports on big data success stories have been accumulating in the media, most organizations dealing with high-volume, high-velocity and high-variety information assets still face challenges. Only a thorough understanding of these challenges puts organizations into a position in which...... they can make an informed decision for or against big data, and, if the decision is positive, overcome the challenges smoothly. The combination of a series of interviews with leading experts from enterprises, associations and research institutions, and focused literature reviews allowed not only...... framework are also relevant. For large enterprises and startups specialized in big data, it is typically easier to overcome the challenges than it is for other enterprises and public administration bodies....

Facing the Knowledge Society: Mexico's Public Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Varela-Petito, Gonzalo

2010-01-01

Public higher education in Mexico faces major challenges vis-a-vis its position within the modern knowledge society, sparking concern among educational authorities. In the second half of the 20th century Mexican universities ceased to be selective, elitist schools, becoming, instead, massive institutions that reflect social and intellectual…

Confronting the Challenges Facing the Nigerian Nation State: Using ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper explains the concept of nation-state and sports. It critically examines some of the challenges characterizing Nigerian nation state such as ethnicity, corruption, politics of godfatherisms, tribalism, language differences, and religious crises among others. It emphasizes the use of sports for creating of friendship ...

CHALLENGES AFFECTING THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN PAKISTAN

OpenAIRE

Khan, Munawar

2012-01-01

The purpose of this thesis was to conduct to find the challenges faced by tourism industry in Pakistan. Tourism plays vital role in economic growth of a country. The countries of world, where there is nothing for tourists or traders are lagging behind from other nations of the world. Pakistan is one of those countries which rich in historical places, natural beauty, and uniqueness in handmade items and also of green forests. Present study was conducted to find the challenges being faced by to...

50 top IT project management challenges

CERN Document Server

Doraiswamy, Premanand

2012-01-01

This book offers a focused and concise summary of 50 challenges facing today's IT project manager. The authors draw on years of practical experience (rather than classroom theory) to outline these challenges and offer useful tips and advice on how to deal with them.

Partner Country Series: Gas Pricing - China's Challenges and IEA Experience

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-07-01

China will play a positive role in the global development of gas, the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Executive Director, Maria Van der Hoeven has said in Beijing on 11 September, 2012 when launching a new IEA report: Gas Pricing and Regulation, China’s challenges and IEA experiences. In line with its aim to meet growing energy demand while shifting away from coal, China has set an ambitious goal of doubling its use of natural gas from 2011 levels by 2015. Prospects are good for significant new supplies – both domestic and imported, conventional and unconventional – to come online in the medium-term, but notable challenges remain, particularly concerning gas pricing and the institutional and regulatory landscape. While China’s circumstances are, in many respects unique, some current issues are similar to those a number of IEA countries have faced. This report highlights some key challenges China faces in its transition to greater reliance on natural gas, then explores in detail relevant experiences from IEA countries, particularly in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States as well as the European Union (EU). Preliminary suggestions about how lessons learned in other countries could be applied to China’s situation are offered as well. The aim of this report is to provide stakeholders in China with a useful reference as they consider decisions about the evolution of the gas sector in their country.

A face in a (temporal) crowd.

Science.gov (United States)

Hacker, Catrina M; Meschke, Emily X; Biederman, Irving

2018-03-20

Familiar objects, specified by name, can be identified with high accuracy when embedded in a rapidly presented sequence of images at rates exceeding 10 images/s. Not only can target objects be detected at such brief presentation rates, they can also be detected under high uncertainty, where their classification is defined negatively, e.g., "Not a Tool." The identification of a familiar speaker's voice declines precipitously when uncertainty is increased from one to a mere handful of possible speakers. Is the limitation imposed by uncertainty, i.e., the number of possible individuals, a general characteristic of processes for person individuation such that the identifiability of a familiar face would undergo a similar decline with uncertainty? Specifically, could the presence of an unnamed celebrity, thus any celebrity, be detected when presented in a rapid sequence of unfamiliar faces? If so, could the celebrity be identified? Despite the markedly greater physical similarity of faces compared to objects that are, say, not tools, the presence of a celebrity could be detected with moderately high accuracy (∼75%) at rates exceeding 7 faces/s. False alarms were exceedingly rare as almost all the errors were misses. Detection accuracy by moderate congenital prosopagnosics was lower than controls, but still well above chance. Given the detection of the presence of a celebrity, all subjects were almost always able to identify that celebrity, providing no role for a covert familiarity signal outside of awareness. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hopes and Challenges

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2010-01-01

China tops the medal tally again at the Asian Games but still faces challenges in some events The curtain of the 16th Asian Games has fallen, but the 15 days of exciting competitions will be recorded in the history of the Games.

Famous face recognition, face matching, and extraversion.

Science.gov (United States)

Lander, Karen; Poyarekar, Siddhi

2015-01-01

It has been previously established that extraverts who are skilled at interpersonal interaction perform significantly better than introverts on a face-specific recognition memory task. In our experiment we further investigate the relationship between extraversion and face recognition, focusing on famous face recognition and face matching. Results indicate that more extraverted individuals perform significantly better on an upright famous face recognition task and show significantly larger face inversion effects. However, our results did not find an effect of extraversion on face matching or inverted famous face recognition.

AN ILLUMINATION INVARIANT TEXTURE BASED FACE RECOGNITION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Meena

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Automatic face recognition remains an interesting but challenging computer vision open problem. Poor illumination is considered as one of the major issue, since illumination changes cause large variation in the facial features. To resolve this, illumination normalization preprocessing techniques are employed in this paper to enhance the face recognition rate. The methods such as Histogram Equalization (HE, Gamma Intensity Correction (GIC, Normalization chain and Modified Homomorphic Filtering (MHF are used for preprocessing. Owing to great success, the texture features are commonly used for face recognition. But these features are severely affected by lighting changes. Hence texture based models Local Binary Pattern (LBP, Local Derivative Pattern (LDP, Local Texture Pattern (LTP and Local Tetra Patterns (LTrPs are experimented under different lighting conditions. In this paper, illumination invariant face recognition technique is developed based on the fusion of illumination preprocessing with local texture descriptors. The performance has been evaluated using YALE B and CMU-PIE databases containing more than 1500 images. The results demonstrate that MHF based normalization gives significant improvement in recognition rate for the face images with large illumination conditions.

Facing the Issues: Challenges, Censorship, and Reflection through Dialogue

Science.gov (United States)

Lent, ReLeah Cossett

2008-01-01

ReLeah Cossett Lent provides practical advice for ensuring that books are kept on shelves and in classrooms for students to read. She outlines steps for creating professional learning communities that engage with censorship issues and prepare schools to deal with book challenges in thoughtful, supportive ways. (Contains 4 figures.)

Strategic Issues Facing U.S. Navy Human Systems Integration Professionals

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Duehring, Jeremy L

2007-01-01

.... Strategic issues represent relevant challenges and problems facing this community over the next few years, including appropriate pay-back tours from officers receiving master's degrees from the NPS...

Hole Feature on Conical Face Recognition for Turning Part Model

Science.gov (United States)

Zubair, A. F.; Abu Mansor, M. S.

2018-03-01

Computer Aided Process Planning (CAPP) is the bridge between CAD and CAM and pre-processing of the CAD data in the CAPP system is essential. For CNC turning part, conical faces of part model is inevitable to be recognised beside cylindrical and planar faces. As the sinus cosines of the cone radius structure differ according to different models, face identification in automatic feature recognition of the part model need special intention. This paper intends to focus hole on feature on conical faces that can be detected by CAD solid modeller ACIS via. SAT file. Detection algorithm of face topology were generated and compared. The study shows different faces setup for similar conical part models with different hole type features. Three types of holes were compared and different between merge faces and unmerge faces were studied.

Facing NAFTA: Literacy and Work in Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Flores, Gloria Hernandez; Lankshear, Colin

2000-01-01

Outlines the deep and complex challenge faced by Mexico in its quest for closer economic integration with so-called advanced economies. Discusses extensive poverty and illiteracy, and the systematic exclusion of many people from access to the very kinds of learning required by Mexico's economic project. Argues that extraordinary efforts and…

Medical rescue of naval combat: challenges and future

OpenAIRE

Jin, Hai; Hou, Li-Jun; Fu, Xiao-Bing

2015-01-01

There has been no large-scale naval combat in the last 30?years. With the rapid development of battleships, weapons manufacturing and electronic technology, naval combat will present some new characteristics. Additionally, naval combat is facing unprecedented challenges. In this paper, we discuss the topic of medical rescue at sea: what challenges we face and what we could do. The contents discussed in this paper contain battlefield self-aid buddy care, clinical skills, organized health servi...

Defense Weather Satellites: DOD Faces Acquisition Challenges for Addressing Capability Needs

Science.gov (United States)

2016-07-07

and compare the operational effectiveness and life cycle costs of potential solutions. This testimony is based on a report GAO issued in March...Technology, House of Representatives For Release on Delivery Expected at 10 a.m. ET Thursday, July 7, 2016 GAO-16-769T United States...Environment, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, House of Representatives July 2016 DEFENSE WEATHER SATELLITES DOD Faces Acquisition

Global precedence effects account for individual differences in both face and object recognition performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerlach, Christian; Starrfelt, Randi

2018-03-20

There has been an increase in studies adopting an individual difference approach to examine visual cognition and in particular in studies trying to relate face recognition performance with measures of holistic processing (the face composite effect and the part-whole effect). In the present study we examine whether global precedence effects, measured by means of non-face stimuli in Navon's paradigm, can also account for individual differences in face recognition and, if so, whether the effect is of similar magnitude for faces and objects. We find evidence that global precedence effects facilitate both face and object recognition, and to a similar extent. Our results suggest that both face and object recognition are characterized by a coarse-to-fine temporal dynamic, where global shape information is derived prior to local shape information, and that the efficiency of face and object recognition is related to the magnitude of the global precedence effect.

Challenges to Business Excellence: Some Empirical Evidence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brown Alan

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The business excellence models are used by many organisations around the world as a strategic driver for business improvement and in some cases as the basis for applications for awards based on the models. These include the Baldrige, EFQM, Australian Business Excellence Framework and many other national and regional models. Whilst many award recipients showcase their achievements, comparatively little is known about the challenges and impediments they face in reaching and sustaining high levels of success as evidenced by winning awards. This paper seeks to identify challenges faced by examining the experience of a sample of Australian Business Excellence Award winners. Findings suggest that the primary challenges include; leadership support, drive and consistency throughout the organisation and communicating strategy and making it meaningful for people at all levels. The study also found variability in challenges across organisations.

Dog experts' brains distinguish socially relevant body postures similarly in dogs and humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Kujala, Miiamaaria V; Kujala, Jan; Carlson, Synnöve; Hari, Riitta

2012-01-01

We read conspecifics' social cues effortlessly, but little is known about our abilities to understand social gestures of other species. To investigate the neural underpinnings of such skills, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the brain activity of experts and non-experts of dog behavior while they observed humans or dogs either interacting with, or facing away from a conspecific. The posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) of both subject groups dissociated humans facing toward each other from humans facing away, and in dog experts, a distinction also occurred for dogs facing toward vs. away in a bilateral area extending from the pSTS to the inferior temporo-occipital cortex: the dissociation of dog behavior was significantly stronger in expert than control group. Furthermore, the control group had stronger pSTS responses to humans than dogs facing toward a conspecific, whereas in dog experts, the responses were of similar magnitude. These findings suggest that dog experts' brains distinguish socially relevant body postures similarly in dogs and humans.

Adaptation effects to attractiveness of face photographs and art portraits are domain-specific

Science.gov (United States)

Hayn-Leichsenring, Gregor U.; Kloth, Nadine; Schweinberger, Stefan R.; Redies, Christoph

2013-01-01

We studied the neural coding of facial attractiveness by investigating effects of adaptation to attractive and unattractive human faces on the perceived attractiveness of veridical human face pictures (Experiment 1) and art portraits (Experiment 2). Experiment 1 revealed a clear pattern of contrastive aftereffects. Relative to a pre-adaptation baseline, the perceived attractiveness of faces was increased after adaptation to unattractive faces, and was decreased after adaptation to attractive faces. Experiment 2 revealed similar aftereffects when art portraits rather than face photographs were used as adaptors and test stimuli, suggesting that effects of adaptation to attractiveness are not restricted to facial photographs. Additionally, we found similar aftereffects in art portraits for beauty, another aesthetic feature that, unlike attractiveness, relates to the properties of the image (rather than to the face displayed). Importantly, Experiment 3 showed that aftereffects were abolished when adaptors were art portraits and face photographs were test stimuli. These results suggest that adaptation to facial attractiveness elicits aftereffects in the perception of subsequently presented faces, for both face photographs and art portraits, and that these effects do not cross image domains. PMID:24349690

Adaptation Effects to Attractiveness of Face Photographs and Art Portraits are Domain-Specific

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gregor U. Hayn-Leichsenring

2013-08-01

Full Text Available We studied the neural coding of facial attractiveness by investigating effects of adaptation to attractive and unattractive human faces on the perceived attractiveness of veridical human face pictures (Experiment 1 and art portraits (Experiment 2. Experiment 1 revealed a clear pattern of contrastive aftereffects. Relative to a pre-adaptation baseline, the perceived attractiveness of faces was increased after adaptation to unattractive faces, and was decreased after adaptation to attractive faces. Experiment 2 revealed similar aftereffects when art portraits rather than face photographs were used as adaptors and test stimuli, suggesting that effects of adaptation to attractiveness are not restricted to facial photographs. Additionally, we found similar aftereffects in art portraits for beauty, another aesthetic feature that, unlike attractiveness, relates to the properties of the image (rather than to the face displayed. Importantly, Experiment 3 showed that aftereffects were abolished when adaptors were art portraits and face photographs were test stimuli. These results suggest that adaptation to facial attractiveness elicits aftereffects in the perception of subsequently presented faces, for both face photographs and art portraits, and that these effects do not cross image domains.

Handedness and phenotypic characteristics of the head and face

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cvetković Milena

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Craniofacial characteristics are used to identify similarities and differences between human populations or within a single population. The aim of this study is to provide data on the differences/similarities between two groups of subjects, left-handed and right-handed children, based on the parameters that determine the phenotypic characteristics of the head and face: head dimensions, face dimensions, hair color, eye color and earlobe shape. The study participants included 1354 students aged 7 to 15 years from regular schools of southeastern Serbia. The instruments used include: the Edinburgh Handedness Questionnaire for handedness determination, the cephalometer, and the questionnaire. 135 students (9.97% were identified as left-handed, and the differences in the observed parameters were recorded between left-handed and right-handed girls in relation to the cephalic index, nasal index, head breadth, face breadth, and eye color.

International Graduate Students' Academic Writing Practices in Malaysia: Challenges and Solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Manjet Kaur Mehar

2015-01-01

This article focuses on the challenges faced by non-native English speaking international graduate students in their academic writing practices while they studied at a university in Malaysia as well as the solutions they employed when faced with the challenges. Academic Literacies Questionnaire was used to collect data. Based on 131 participants,…

Medical rescue of naval combat: challenges and future.

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Hai; Hou, Li-Jun; Fu, Xiao-Bing

2015-01-01

There has been no large-scale naval combat in the last 30 years. With the rapid development of battleships, weapons manufacturing and electronic technology, naval combat will present some new characteristics. Additionally, naval combat is facing unprecedented challenges. In this paper, we discuss the topic of medical rescue at sea: what challenges we face and what we could do. The contents discussed in this paper contain battlefield self-aid buddy care, clinical skills, organized health services, medical training and future medical research programs. We also discuss the characteristics of modern naval combat, medical rescue challenges, medical treatment highlights and future developments of medical rescue at sea.

The Nature of Elementary Science Teachers' Experiences with Synchronous Online, Asynchronous Online and Face-to-Face Coaching

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbert, Amanda M.

This study investigated the nature of instructional coaching interactions in three formats: online synchronous, online asynchronous, and face-to-face. Knight's (2007) Seven Partnership Principles of Instructional Coaching were used as a framework to analyze and compare the coaching interactions between coach and teacher to determine whether online coaching may be a viable option to provide support for the teachers unprepared to teach the new science standards. Some previous research has suggested that online communication can result in deeper personal interactions (Walther, 1996), while other studies suggest that interactions are more natural and easier in formats that are more similar to face-to-face interactions (Kock, 2005). The findings of this study support the media naturalness theory (Kock, 2005) and suggest that collaboration may be especially difficult in asynchronous online communication. Although differences were noted in the actual interactions, teacher perception remained fairly consistently positive across the three formats. Research beyond this exploratory study is needed to make findings generalizable.

Similarity-based pattern analysis and recognition

CERN Document Server

Pelillo, Marcello

2013-01-01

This accessible text/reference presents a coherent overview of the emerging field of non-Euclidean similarity learning. The book presents a broad range of perspectives on similarity-based pattern analysis and recognition methods, from purely theoretical challenges to practical, real-world applications. The coverage includes both supervised and unsupervised learning paradigms, as well as generative and discriminative models. Topics and features: explores the origination and causes of non-Euclidean (dis)similarity measures, and how they influence the performance of traditional classification alg

Bangladesh Midlife Women's Health Study (BMWHS): methods, challenges and experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Islam, Rakibul M; Bell, Robin J; Hossain, Mohammad B; Davis, Susan R

2015-01-01

To understand the challenges and experiences encountered during data collection for Bangladesh Midlife Women's Health Study (BMWHS) that investigated the low uptake of cervical cancer (CCa) screening barriers, understanding of breast cancer (BCa) knowledge and practices, the prevalence of urinary and fecal incontinence and menopausal symptoms. A multistage cluster sampling technique was used to recruit women from the 32 districts of Bangladesh that had offered CCa screening. Female interviewers were trained to undertake structured face-to-face interviews that incorporated both non-validated and several validated questionnaires, such as Question for Urinary Incontinence Diagnosis, Pelvic Organ Prolapse Distress Inventory, Colorectal-Anal Distress Inventory and Menopause-Specific Quality of Life. We completed surveys of 1590 women, estimated age 30-59 years, between September 2013 and March 2014. We implemented several strategies to deal with low literacy and used the temporal relationship between marriage and childbirth, and the average age of onset of menarche, to estimate age. Cultural and religious sensitivities and personal security were managed by engaging community leaders, limiting activities to daylight hours, adopting local codes of dress, such as the wearing of head scarves. Our major challenges and experiences included difficulties in age determination, selection of and access to households, interview privacy, lack of basic and health literacy, transportation, political unrest and security of the interviewers. By anticipating challenges, we have been able to comprehensively survey a representative sample of Bangladeshi women. Disseminating information about the field challenges and experiences from the BMWHS should assist other researchers planning to conduct surveys about women's health issues in similar context. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Challenges Women with Disability Face in Accessing and Using Maternal Healthcare Services in Ghana: A Qualitative Study

Science.gov (United States)

Ganle, John Kuumuori; Otupiri, Easmon; Obeng, Bernard; Edusie, Anthony Kwaku; Ankomah, Augustine; Adanu, Richard

2016-01-01

Background While a number of studies have examined the factors affecting accessibility to and utilisation of healthcare services by persons with disability in general, there is little evidence about disabled women's access to maternal health services in low-income countries and few studies consult disabled women themselves to understand their experience of care and the challenges they face in accessing skilled maternal health services. The objective of this paper is to explore the challenges women with disabilities encounter in accessing and using institutional maternal healthcare services in Ghana. Methods and Findings A qualitative study was conducted in 27 rural and urban communities in the Bosomtwe and Central Gonja districts of Ghana with a total of 72 purposively sampled women with different physical, visual, and hearing impairments who were either lactating or pregnant at the time of this research. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were used to gather data. Attride-Stirling’s thematic network framework was used to analyse the data. Findings suggest that although women with disability do want to receive institutional maternal healthcare, their disability often made it difficult for such women to travel to access skilled care, as well as gain access to unfriendly physical health infrastructure. Other related access challenges include: healthcare providers’ insensitivity and lack of knowledge about the maternity care needs of women with disability, negative attitudes of service providers, the perception from able-bodied persons that women with disability should be asexual, and health information that lacks specificity in terms of addressing the special maternity care needs of women with disability. Conclusions Maternal healthcare services that are designed to address the needs of able-bodied women might lack the flexibility and responsiveness to meet the special maternity care needs of women with disability. More disability-related cultural competence and

Real-time detection with AdaBoost-svm combination in various face orientation

Science.gov (United States)

Fhonna, R. P.; Nasution, M. K. M.; Tulus

2018-03-01

Most of the research has used algorithm AdaBoost-SVM for face detection. However, to our knowledge so far there is no research has been facing detection on real-time data with various orientations using the combination of AdaBoost and Support Vector Machine (SVM). Characteristics of complex and diverse face variations and real-time data in various orientations, and with a very complex application will slow down the performance of the face detection system this becomes a challenge in this research. Face orientation performed on the detection system, that is 900, 450, 00, -450, and -900. This combination method is expected to be an effective and efficient solution in various face orientations. The results showed that the highest average detection rate is on the face detection oriented 00 and the lowest detection rate is in the face orientation 900.

Face-to-Face Activities in Blended Learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjærgaard, Annemette

While blended learning combines online and face-to-face teaching, research on blended learning has primarily focused on the role of technology and the opportunities it creates for engaging students. Less focus has been put on face-to-face activities in blended learning. This paper argues...... that it is not only the online activities in blended learning that provide new opportunities for rethinking pedagogy in higher education, it is also imperative to reconsider the face-to-face activities when part of the learning is provided online. Based on a review of blended learning in business and management...... education, we identify what forms of teaching and learning are suggested to take place face-to-face when other activities are moved online. We draw from the Community of Inquiry framework to analyze how face-to-face activities contribute to a blended learning pedagogy and discuss the implications...

Systems approach to waste governance: unpacking the challenges facing local government

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Godfrey, Linda K

2008-09-01

Full Text Available and Tourism (DEAT, 2007) highlighted the obstacles that are faced by local government in achieving service delivery for waste. The three identified obstacles included Financial Capacity; Institutional Capacity; Technical Capacity. 2 Opportunity cost... the systems diagrams show (Figure 2), is that without intervention by national government departments, e.g. National Treasury, Department of Provincial and Local Government, or Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, municipalities will be unable...

Iterative closest normal point for 3D face recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammadzade, Hoda; Hatzinakos, Dimitrios

2013-02-01

The common approach for 3D face recognition is to register a probe face to each of the gallery faces and then calculate the sum of the distances between their points. This approach is computationally expensive and sensitive to facial expression variation. In this paper, we introduce the iterative closest normal point method for finding the corresponding points between a generic reference face and every input face. The proposed correspondence finding method samples a set of points for each face, denoted as the closest normal points. These points are effectively aligned across all faces, enabling effective application of discriminant analysis methods for 3D face recognition. As a result, the expression variation problem is addressed by minimizing the within-class variability of the face samples while maximizing the between-class variability. As an important conclusion, we show that the surface normal vectors of the face at the sampled points contain more discriminatory information than the coordinates of the points. We have performed comprehensive experiments on the Face Recognition Grand Challenge database, which is presently the largest available 3D face database. We have achieved verification rates of 99.6 and 99.2 percent at a false acceptance rate of 0.1 percent for the all versus all and ROC III experiments, respectively, which, to the best of our knowledge, have seven and four times less error rates, respectively, compared to the best existing methods on this database.

Navigating Transitions: Challenges for Engineering Students

Science.gov (United States)

Moore-Russo, Deborah; Wilsey, Jillian N.; Parthum, Michael J., Sr.; Lewis, Kemper

2017-01-01

As college students enter engineering, they face challenges when they navigate across various transitions. These challenges impact whether a student can successfully adapt to the rigorous curricular requirements of an engineering degree and to the norms and expectations that are particular to engineering. This article focuses on the transitions…

Core corporate governance dilemmas facing boards: a South African perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyram Serretta

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Directors and boards face many challenges in terms of managing complexity. A key factor of success in practicing good corporate governance is the board’s ability to cope with paradox. The purpose of this research has been to explore the core corporate governance dilemmas facing boards. The investigation was qualitative in nature using the Delphi technique. Six core corporate governance dilemmas facing board members were identified one of which is not mentioned in the international literature. The findings should provide directors with an ability to identify the nature of the paradoxes they need to respond to.

Developmental changes in analytic and holistic processes in face perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, Jane E; DiBartolo, Michelle D; Bhatt, Ramesh S

2015-01-01

Although infants demonstrate sensitivity to some kinds of perceptual information in faces, many face capacities continue to develop throughout childhood. One debate is the degree to which children perceive faces analytically versus holistically and how these processes undergo developmental change. In the present study, school-aged children and adults performed a perceptual matching task with upright and inverted face and house pairs that varied in similarity of featural or 2(nd) order configural information. Holistic processing was operationalized as the degree of serial processing when discriminating faces and houses [i.e., increased reaction time (RT), as more features or spacing relations were shared between stimuli]. Analytical processing was operationalized as the degree of parallel processing (or no change in RT as a function of greater similarity of features or spatial relations). Adults showed the most evidence for holistic processing (most strongly for 2(nd) order faces) and holistic processing was weaker for inverted faces and houses. Younger children (6-8 years), in contrast, showed analytical processing across all experimental manipulations. Older children (9-11 years) showed an intermediate pattern with a trend toward holistic processing of 2(nd) order faces like adults, but parallel processing in other experimental conditions like younger children. These findings indicate that holistic face representations emerge around 10 years of age. In adults both 2(nd) order and featural information are incorporated into holistic representations, whereas older children only incorporate 2(nd) order information. Holistic processing was not evident in younger children. Hence, the development of holistic face representations relies on 2(nd) order processing initially then incorporates featural information by adulthood.

Developmental changes in analytic and holistic processes in face perception

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jane Elizabeth Joseph

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Although infants demonstrate sensitivity to some kinds of perceptual information in faces, many face capacities continue to develop throughout childhood. One debate is the degree to which children perceive faces analytically versus holistically and how these processes undergo developmental change. In the present study, school-aged children and adults performed a perceptual matching task with upright and inverted face and house pairs that varied in similarity of featural or 2nd order configural information. Holistic processing was operationalized as the degree of serial processing when discriminating faces and houses (i.e., increased reaction time, RT, as more features or spacing relations were shared between stimuli. Analytical processing was operationalized as the degree of parallel processing (or no change in reaction time as a function of greater similarity of features or spatial relations. Adults showed the most evidence for holistic processing (most strongly for 2nd order faces and holistic processing was weaker for inverted faces and houses. Younger children (6-8 years, in contrast, showed analytical processing across all experimental manipulations. Older children (9-11 years showed an intermediate pattern with a trend toward holistic processing of 2nd order faces like adults, but parallel processing in other experimental conditions like younger children. These findings indicate that holistic face representations emerge around 10 years of age. In adults both 2nd order and featural information are incorporated into holistic representations, whereas older children only incorporate 2nd order information. Holistic processing was not evident in younger children. Hence, the development of holistic face representations relies on 2nd order processing initially then incorporates featural information by adulthood.

Developmental changes in analytic and holistic processes in face perception

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, Jane E.; DiBartolo, Michelle D.; Bhatt, Ramesh S.

2015-01-01

Although infants demonstrate sensitivity to some kinds of perceptual information in faces, many face capacities continue to develop throughout childhood. One debate is the degree to which children perceive faces analytically versus holistically and how these processes undergo developmental change. In the present study, school-aged children and adults performed a perceptual matching task with upright and inverted face and house pairs that varied in similarity of featural or 2nd order configural information. Holistic processing was operationalized as the degree of serial processing when discriminating faces and houses [i.e., increased reaction time (RT), as more features or spacing relations were shared between stimuli]. Analytical processing was operationalized as the degree of parallel processing (or no change in RT as a function of greater similarity of features or spatial relations). Adults showed the most evidence for holistic processing (most strongly for 2nd order faces) and holistic processing was weaker for inverted faces and houses. Younger children (6–8 years), in contrast, showed analytical processing across all experimental manipulations. Older children (9–11 years) showed an intermediate pattern with a trend toward holistic processing of 2nd order faces like adults, but parallel processing in other experimental conditions like younger children. These findings indicate that holistic face representations emerge around 10 years of age. In adults both 2nd order and featural information are incorporated into holistic representations, whereas older children only incorporate 2nd order information. Holistic processing was not evident in younger children. Hence, the development of holistic face representations relies on 2nd order processing initially then incorporates featural information by adulthood. PMID:26300838

Pose-invariant face recognition using Markov random fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Huy Tho; Chellappa, Rama

2013-04-01

One of the key challenges for current face recognition techniques is how to handle pose variations between the probe and gallery face images. In this paper, we present a method for reconstructing the virtual frontal view from a given nonfrontal face image using Markov random fields (MRFs) and an efficient variant of the belief propagation algorithm. In the proposed approach, the input face image is divided into a grid of overlapping patches, and a globally optimal set of local warps is estimated to synthesize the patches at the frontal view. A set of possible warps for each patch is obtained by aligning it with images from a training database of frontal faces. The alignments are performed efficiently in the Fourier domain using an extension of the Lucas-Kanade algorithm that can handle illumination variations. The problem of finding the optimal warps is then formulated as a discrete labeling problem using an MRF. The reconstructed frontal face image can then be used with any face recognition technique. The two main advantages of our method are that it does not require manually selected facial landmarks or head pose estimation. In order to improve the performance of our pose normalization method in face recognition, we also present an algorithm for classifying whether a given face image is at a frontal or nonfrontal pose. Experimental results on different datasets are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Psychophysical thresholds of face visibility during infancy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gelskov, Sofie; Kouider, Sid

2010-01-01

The ability to detect and focus on faces is a fundamental prerequisite for developing social skills. But how well can infants detect faces? Here, we address this question by studying the minimum duration at which faces must appear to trigger a behavioral response in infants. We used a preferential...... looking method in conjunction with masking and brief presentations (300 ms and below) to establish the temporal thresholds of visibility at different stages of development. We found that 5 and 10 month-old infants have remarkably similar visibility thresholds about three times higher than those of adults....... By contrast, 15 month-olds not only revealed adult-like thresholds, but also improved their performance through memory-based strategies. Our results imply that the development of face visibility follows a non-linear course and is determined by a radical improvement occurring between 10 and 15 months....

Multi-stream face recognition for crime-fighting