Thesis (MTech. degree in Information Networks)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2009. / The research presented explores the problem of identifying a digital camera from a given image or set of images and what the identification process entails. The main question addressed with this research is to find out if the possibility exists to combine various methodologies to achieve a more effective identification methodology than what was possible with only one method.

published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

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The identification of laboratory mice has been an important issue in pharmaceutical applications ever since tests have been performed on animals. As biometric identification has become an increasingly important issue over the past decade, attempts are underway to replace traditional identification methods, which are mostly invasive and limited in code space. This thesis discusses a project that aims at identifying mice by biometrically examining the blood vessel patterns in their ears. In the proposed algorithm, firstly, the blood vessel structure within the obtained images got enhanced before segmenting the image in blood vessel and non-blood vessel portions. In the next step a sufficient amount of unique feature points got extracted from the segmented image. The obtained feature points were afterwards used for the actual identification procedure. Out of 20 mice, 18 could be identified successfully using the proposed algorithm.

A digital guide to 173 common insect pests of Ontario nursery and landscape plants was developed and illustrated with 1357 images. All available information on these species was reviewed and supplemented with observations made from field surveys in Ontario nurseries and from rearing individuals to desired life stages. Dichotomous keys to these species were written to aid in their identification and will form the basis for interactive keys to be included in a future version of the digital guide. An online, SQL database was developed using Drupal to store and manage species reviews and image content. A custom theme was designed to create an easily updated, online digital guide with image-search functionality and a sample interactive digital key to the mature larvae of pest Lepidoptera. The interactive digital guide will serve as a dynamic resource for the landscape plant production industry and facilitates rapid identification of important insect pests.

Niteobrachis, a new genus in the tribe Brachistini (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Helconinae), is described. The genus is endemic to the New World and contains 24 species, all of which are newly described: amazonicus, attonitus, candeo, carmenae, clarus, delicatus, elegans, fulgeo, gracilis, gustus, ictus, insignis (type species), luceo, lucidus, luisi, lumen, luminosus, luna, mico, nitidus, serenus, splendidus, subtilis and venustus. Keys to the species of Niteobrachis and to the genera of Brachistini are given. Niteobrachis is diagnosed by a combination of characters in the metasoma, including the absence of striations and/or sculpturing on the second and third median tergites with a glossy/smooth appearance; a shallow suture between the second and third median tergites; presence of a crease that separates the second median tergite from the second laterotergite; absence of a crease that separates the third median tergite from the third laterotergite; fused second and third laterotergites; the lateral longitudinal carinae of the first median tergite reaching the articulation between the first and second median tergites; and the first three median tergites covering most of the remainder of the metasoma. The monophyly of Niteobrachis is supported by two synapomorphies: a minute median longitudinal carina of the propodeum, and the lateral longitudinal carinae of the first median tergite reaching the articulation between the first and second median tergites. Recognition of this genus resulted from a phylogenetic analysis of six tribes of Helconinae, including most genera of Brachistini based on a data matrix of 49 characters and 18 terminal taxa. The phylogenetic affinities of the genus are examined, a sister group relationship with Foersteria Szepligeti is hypothesized, and the problematic placement of the subgenera of Eubazus Nees is considered.

Since the naming of the Chinese Fifth Generation in the 1980s, generational study became an important methodology in Chinese film studies. The Chinese directors up to the mid-1980s are categorised into five generations. However, the directors emerging after the Fifth Generation do not so far have a certain generational name. Thus, the identification of this “nameless” group, which is called the post-fifth generation in this thesis, is an interesting issue reflecting the political, economical and cultural discourse in contemporary China. This thesis focuses on these directors’ films narrated with female protagonists, probes the reason why they chose female-centred narratives, and examines how they portrayed women and women’s stories in their filmic representation. In the light of Foucault’s theories of discourse and power, I examine the films as a kind of representation which is generated within discursive formation, and through which the directors identify themselves. The conclusion reached by the discussion is that both the female and the male directors studied in this thesis present very feminine discourse in their films. While the female directors are emphasising, even advertising their identity as women, their male counterparts are trying very hard to simulate and perform a feminine identification. This finding exactly answers the question in the thesis title. Since femininity is something that can be chosen, simulated, used, and played, the word “feminist” can also become a cultural brand from which the directors can benefit.

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Witnesses sometimes mistakenly identify innocent suspects in lineups from which the real culprit is absent, and those errors can have tragic consequences. Can we estimate in advance a witness’s susceptibility to making false identifications in culprit-absent lineups? Kantner and Lindsay (2012) found that response criterion on a standard test of old/new recognition (of faces or words) correlated with the likelihood of making lineup identifications. Four experiments tested the predictive utility of a two-alternative forced choice facial recognition test that included trials in which neither face had been studied. Through Experiment 3 we observed several weak predictive relationships, including confidence on the facial recognition test with confidence on the lineup test, but not the hypothesized relationship: that the rate of false alarms on the TA face recognition trials would predict false alarm rates on the target-absent lineup trials. Experiment 4 implemented a substantial increase in the number of face recognition trials displaying two non-studied faces (from 4 trials to 30) and the originally hypothesized relationship was found (r=.45). Implications for future research aimed at developing measures with real-world utility are discussed. / Graduate / 0633 / 0623 / 0384 / mjbldssr@uvic.ca