Master of Science / Department of Psychological Sciences / Lester C. Loschky / Past research has argued that scene gist, a holistic semantic representation of a scene acquired within a single fixation, is extracted using purely feed-forward mechanisms. Many scene gist recognition studies have presented scenes from multiple categories in randomized sequences. We tested whether rapid scene categorization could be facilitated by priming from sequential expectations. We created more ecologically valid, first-person viewpoint, image sequences, along spatiotemporally connected routes (e.g., an office to a parking lot). Participants identified target scenes at the end of rapid serial visual presentations. Critically, we manipulated whether targets were in coherent or randomized sequences. Target categorization was more accurate in coherent sequences than in randomized sequences. Furthermore, categorization was more accurate for a target following one or more images within the same category than following a switch between categories. Likewise, accuracy was higher for targets more visually similar to their immediately preceding primes. This suggested that prime-to-target visual similarity may explain the coherent sequence advantage. We tested this hypothesis in Experiment 2, which was identical except that target images were removed from the sequences, and participants were asked to predict the scene category of the missing target. Missing images in coherent sequences were more accurately predicted than missing images in randomized sequences, and more predictable images were identified more accurately in Experiment 1. Importantly, partial correlations revealed that image predictability and prime-to-target visual similarity independently contributed to rapid scene gist categorization accuracy suggesting sequential expectations prime and thus facilitate scene recognition processes.

We propose a scheme for indoor place identification based on the recognition of global scene views. Scene views are encoded using a holistic representation that provides low-resolution spatial and spectral information. The holistic nature of the representation dispenses with the need to rely on specific objects or local landmarks and also renders it robust against variations in object configurations. We demonstrate the scheme on the problem of recognizing scenes in video sequences captured while walking through an office environment. We develop a method for distinguishing between 'diagnostic' and 'generic' views and also evaluate changes in system performances as a function of the amount of training data available and the complexity of the representation.

The thesis treats the theatrical scenes and single figure portraits of actors and actresses en role by George Clint. The development of theatrical scene painting in England during the eighteenth century is traced from its antecedents in The Netherlands and France through to the arrival of Clint. There is a brief review of Clint's career to 1816 when he exhibited his first theatrical scene at the Royal Academy. To define the area in which Clint worked, a chapter explores the theatre of the time. His theatrical scenes are discussed for each of the three phases of his work which I have identified. The first phase terminated in 1821 when he was elected ARA. His second phase ran through the 1820s when he continued his earlier manner of painting scenes from staged productions, with portraiture. In the last phase during the 1830s his style and subject material changed. He was essentially a painter of the comic, initially of largely contemporary comedy and farce, but after 1830 of the more substantial comedies of Shakespeare. At the same time his style changed to a more distanced treatment of the theatre without reference to specific productions or casts. The treatment of his theatrical scenes is followed by a consideration of his single figure theatrical portraits of actors and actresses. An important goal for Clint was full membership of the Royal Academy; that he never achieved it led to his resignation in 1836. The position of the Academy at the time, and in particular Clint's situation, is considered. Clint is seen as a peculiarly representative figure in the debates on both the fine arts and the theatre, working as he does at the junction of the two arts and affected by the problems of both.Prints from Clint's theatrical scenes and individual theatrical portraits, both as independent works and as book illustrations are also discussed. Finally, his influence and the reason why the genre of theatrical scene painting came to an end in him are considered 3

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Thesis (M.F.A.)--Kent State University, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Jan. 22, 2010). Advisor: Raynette Smith. Keywords: Theatre; Scenic Charge Artist; Paint.

This thesis investigates a novel scene analysis system that determines the identity and the relative positions of unconstrained objects within a natural three dimensional grey scale image. Images may be of 'block filled' or 'line drawn' occluded shapes. It utilises the occluding information to discover the relative depth of objects in the scene. The system incorporates associative memories, the N tuple pattern recognition process, movable multiple resolution windows and edge detection. The structure and performance of the system and its subsystems is reported. The associative memory incorporates a novel recall procedure which has uses outside the application given here. The work incorporates ideas from the neurophysiology of the human visual system to overcome some of the problems encountered.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1972. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

I designed the set for Fool For Love by Sam Shepard in the McLeod Theater, Fall Semester 2013 for my thesis production. Fool For Love Is a short and intense hyper-realistic play about two lovers with a dark past. The entire play takes place in one extended scene in a motel room on the edge of the desert. Eddie tries to win May back, while she tries to free herself from her need to go back to him. The Old Man is a figure outside of reality that intrudes on the play, the father they share and the source of the shame in their relationship. A suitor, Martin, appears to set this combustible mixture off. I designed a cramped and derelict space which pushed the auditory surrealism of the play and made the experience as intimate and intense as I could for the audience. Chapter 1 contains me research and initial response to both the script and the thesis process. Chapter 2 walks through the process of designing and building the show. Chapter 3 reflects on my performance overall. Chapter 4 is a deeper look into design communication, a weakness this process revealed in my work.

This dissertation focuses on the battle scenes of the column of Marcus Aurelius (Rome, late 2nd century AD), which are analyzed from three main points of view: from the viewpoint of composition, as representations of historical events, and as bearers of message to the contemporary viewer. As works of art, the battle scenes of the Marcus column diverge significantly from both the established classical tradition of battle art, and also from the battle scenes on the column of Trajan. This identifies them as novel, original works created for the purpose of adorning the new monument. Detailed analysis of the figure types making up the scenes also indicates a connection to the contemporary sarcophagus industry based in Rome, suggesting that it was from here that the designer(s) and/or carvers of the column came. As representations of historical events, the battle scenes prove to be very poor evidence, whether from the view of military equipment, troop behaviour in battle, or in comparison to the few literary descriptions of the battles of Marcus' wars. This contrasts sharply with the representation of battle on the column of Trajan. Finally, and as has been noted by scholars, the scenes of battle on the Marcus column present a remarkably violent depiction of combat. However, this can be shown to be reflective not only of the nature of Marcus' wars but also of a much harsher set of standards for the treatment of rebellious enemies. Thus, the message of the column's battle scenes is one which would correspond well with the presumed viewpoint of a contemporary Roman. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The aesthetic response is a multifaceted and subtle behavior that ranges in magnitude from sublime to mundane. Few studies have investigated the more subtle, weak aesthetic responses to mundane scenes. But all aesthetic responses rely upon sensory-perceptual processes, which serve as a crucial first step in contemporary models of the aesthetic response. As such, understanding the roles of perceptual processes in aesthetic responses to the mundane provides insights into all aesthetic responses. Variation in the physical properties of aesthetic objects must cause such responses, but to understand the relationship, such physical properties must be quantified. Then, the mechanism can be determined. Here, I present the theoretical basis and reason for interest in such a test of mundane aesthetic responses in Chapter I. In Chapter II, I present metrics that quantify the physical properties of natural scenes, using computer-generated images that model the complexity of natural scenes to validate these measurement techniques. The methods presented in Chapter II are adapted to analyze the physical properties of natural scenes in Chapter III, extending the analysis to photographs and clarifying the relationship between the properties fractal dimension and spectral scaling decay rate. A behavioral study is presented in Chapter IV that investigates the extent that perceptual responses about complexity serve as an intermediary between aesthetic ratings and the physical properties of the images described in Chapters II and III. Chapter V summarizes the results of these studies and explores future directions. This dissertation includes previously published and unpublished coauthored material.