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<p>Many aspects of medieval Western Indian temple art have been subject to scholarly attention. One type of temple-image which has been identified, but heretofore unstudied, is the stone portrait. I have gathered evidence of more than 200 images of historical lay people and ascetics, extant and/or from about 60 inscriptions. Some of the images are Hindu, but most are Jain.</p> <p>In this thesis, I undertake the first comprehensive study of the 'Western Indian portrait', emphasizing Jain examples. My approaches to the portraits are straightforward. First, I divide my study into analyses of images portraying the laity, and images portraying monks. Second, I consider 1) the religiosity and 2) the historical contexts behind certain lay and monastic portraits.</p> <p>The evidence of Jain monks' portraits is most significant. Notably, one-third of monks' portraits were donated by other monks. On the one hand, evidence indicates that certain monks donated portraits of their brethren to generate good karma for the portrait-subjects, in order to secure heavenly rebirth for those subjects. On the other hand, evidence indicates that certain portraits donated by monks represent the alleged divinity of the portrait-subjects, asserted in order to foster a cult of the dead for material and political gain (over monks from rival lineages).</p> <p>Thus, my research has uncovered some unexpected facets of Jain monasticism. It is commonly believed that Jainism is unswervingly dedicated to world-renunciation and the most severe austerities for the attainment of liberation from the cycle of rebirth. My research is significant in that it reveals a much different picture, one in which some monks shared the laity's concern for the acquisition of good karma in order to attain the felicity of heaven, and one in which certain monks involved themselves in very worldly political affairs.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis argued that the Jain community in the diasporic context of the USA has invented a new form of Jainism. Sectarian negotiations are the distinguishing marks of the diaspora Jain community and their invented form of Jainism. Based on ethnographic study that is, interviews and observations conducted at four different sites (Jain temples/communities) from June-August 2016, the thesis examined the sectarian negotiations among the diaspora Jain community in the USA and the invented Jain tradition that is resulting from these negotiations. The central questions of the research on which this thesis is based were: 1) what are the levels, processes and results of sectarian negotiations within the Jain diaspora community in the USA, and 2) what is the nature and characteristic of the new form of Jainism, the invented tradition; and how do Jains in the USA experience and use it.

Parlay is an open standard that focuses on opening up the telecommunication networks for new services and new service providers. It encapsulates the underlying protocols and signaling layers and provides a framework for services so that the applications do not need to handle signaling and network related tasks. Parlay is also created to integrate the public telephone network with wireless and packet based networks. Java APIs for Integrated Networks (JAIN) is the Java implementation of the Parlay specification and includes a Java framework for network access and call control, among others. I have in this thesis used the Parlay and JAIN technology to design a Virtual Private Branch Exchange (VPBX), which is a software based system for the telecommunications domain. The VPBX provides functionality such as attendant control, routing and re-routing of calls, telephone queue handling and calls on hold. All use of the system is made from mobile phones, even the attendant client application is designed for a handheld device. I have in this thesis presented an architectural design for the VPBX and an evaluation of the design.

Os sistemas automáticos são normalmente empregados na indústria com o objetivo de otimizar a produção. Na agro-indústria, estes sistemas são usados com o mesmo propósito, sendo que dentre estes sistemas é possível destacar os que empregam a visão computacional, pois esta tem sido usada para inspeção de lavouras, colheita mecanizada, guiagem de veículos e robôs entre outras aplicações. No presente trabalho, técnicas de visão computacional foram utilizadas para segmentar e classificar elementos presentes em imagens obtidas de pomares de laranjeiras. Uma arquitetura modular foi utilizada na qual a imagem é segmentada automaticamente e, posteriormente, os segmentos são classificados. Nesta arquitetura, o algoritmo de segmentação e o classificador podem ser alterados sem prejudicar a flexibilidade do sistema implementado. Foram realizados experimentos com um banco de imagens composto por 658 imagens. Estas imagens foram obtidas sob diferentes condições de iluminação durante o período que as frutas estavam maduras. Estes experimentos foram realizados para avaliar, no contexto da arquitetura desenvolvida, o algoritmo de segmentação JSEG, vetores de características derivados dos espaços de cores RGB e HSV, além de três tipos de classificadores: bayesiano, classificador ingênuo de Bayes e classificador baseado no perceptron multicamadas. Finalmente, foram construídos os mapas de classes. As funções de distribuição de probabilidades foram estimadas com o algoritmo de Figueiredo-Jain. Dos resultados obtidos, deve-se destacar que o algoritmo de segmentação mostrou-se adequado aos propósitos deste trabalho e o classificador bayesiano mostrou-se mais prático que o classificador baseado no perceptron multicamadas. Por fim, a arquitetura mostrou-se adequada para o reconhecimento de cenas obtidas em pomares de laranjeiras. / Automation systems are usually used in the industry to optimize the production. In the agroindustry, these systems are used with the same intentions. Among them are systems that use computer vision for inspection, mechanized harvest, vehicles and robots guidance and other applications. Because of this, in the present work, techniques of computer vision were used to segment and classify elements in the images from oranges orchards. A modular architecture was used. The image are automatically segmented and, then the segments are classified. In this architecture, the segmentation algorithm and the classifier can be modified without loss of flexibility. The experiments were carried out with 658 images. These images were acquired under different illumination conditions during the period that the fruits are mature. These experiments were carried out to evaluate, in the context of developed architecture, the segmentation algorithm JSEG, characteristics vectors derived from the colors spaces RGB and HSV and three classifiers: Bayes\'s classifier, Bayes\'s naive classifier and multilayer perceptron classifier. Finally, the class maps were constructed. The Figueiredo-Jain algorithm was used to estimate the probability distribution functions. The results show that the segmentation algorithm is adequate to this work and the Bayes classifier is more practical that the multilayer perceptron classifier. Finally, the architecture is adequate for recognition of images acquired in orange orchards.

Os sistemas automáticos são normalmente empregados na indústria com o objetivo de otimizar a produção. Na agro-indústria, estes sistemas são usados com o mesmo propósito, sendo que dentre estes sistemas é possível destacar os que empregam a visão computacional, pois esta tem sido usada para inspeção de lavouras, colheita mecanizada, guiagem de veículos e robôs entre outras aplicações. No presente trabalho, técnicas de visão computacional foram utilizadas para segmentar e classificar elementos presentes em imagens obtidas de pomares de laranjeiras. Uma arquitetura modular foi utilizada na qual a imagem é segmentada automaticamente e, posteriormente, os segmentos são classificados. Nesta arquitetura, o algoritmo de segmentação e o classificador podem ser alterados sem prejudicar a flexibilidade do sistema implementado. Foram realizados experimentos com um banco de imagens composto por 658 imagens. Estas imagens foram obtidas sob diferentes condições de iluminação durante o período que as frutas estavam maduras. Estes experimentos foram realizados para avaliar, no contexto da arquitetura desenvolvida, o algoritmo de segmentação JSEG, vetores de características derivados dos espaços de cores RGB e HSV, além de três tipos de classificadores: bayesiano, classificador ingênuo de Bayes e classificador baseado no perceptron multicamadas. Finalmente, foram construídos os mapas de classes. As funções de distribuição de probabilidades foram estimadas com o algoritmo de Figueiredo-Jain. Dos resultados obtidos, deve-se destacar que o algoritmo de segmentação mostrou-se adequado aos propósitos deste trabalho e o classificador bayesiano mostrou-se mais prático que o classificador baseado no perceptron multicamadas. Por fim, a arquitetura mostrou-se adequada para o reconhecimento de cenas obtidas em pomares de laranjeiras. / Automation systems are usually used in the industry to optimize the production. In the agroindustry, these systems are used with the same intentions. Among them are systems that use computer vision for inspection, mechanized harvest, vehicles and robots guidance and other applications. Because of this, in the present work, techniques of computer vision were used to segment and classify elements in the images from oranges orchards. A modular architecture was used. The image are automatically segmented and, then the segments are classified. In this architecture, the segmentation algorithm and the classifier can be modified without loss of flexibility. The experiments were carried out with 658 images. These images were acquired under different illumination conditions during the period that the fruits are mature. These experiments were carried out to evaluate, in the context of developed architecture, the segmentation algorithm JSEG, characteristics vectors derived from the colors spaces RGB and HSV and three classifiers: Bayes\'s classifier, Bayes\'s naive classifier and multilayer perceptron classifier. Finally, the class maps were constructed. The Figueiredo-Jain algorithm was used to estimate the probability distribution functions. The results show that the segmentation algorithm is adequate to this work and the Bayes classifier is more practical that the multilayer perceptron classifier. Finally, the architecture is adequate for recognition of images acquired in orange orchards.

The subject of this research is to find a continuous solution, which allows the description, the creation, the provisioning, and the execution of value-added telecommunication services. This work proposes a framework for an easy and timesaving creation and provisioning of value-added telecommunication services in Next Generation Networks. As research method, feasibility, comparative methods are used in this study. Criteria and requirements for service description, service creation, service execution, and service provisioning, are defined and existing technologies are compared with each other and evaluated regarding these criteria and requirements. Extensions to the selected technologies are proposed and possibilities to combine these technologies are researched. From the results of the previous steps, a framework is defined which offers a continuous solution for the description, creation, provisioning and execution of value-added services. In order to test the proof of concept, this framework is prototypically implemented. For a qualitative analysis of the research targets and the proof of concept, an example service is created and executed within the framework prototype. Furthermore, in order to examine the validity of the quantitative aims and objectives of this research work, a second example service is created, and its characteristics are measured and analysed. The result of this research is a novel continuous approach for the creation of value-added telecommunication services. This research introduces new possibilities for the service description, service creation, service provisioning, and service execution through an extension of the common telecommunication real-time execution environment JAIN SLEE. Value-added services are described by using the business process execution language BPEL. This language facilitates a simple and fast service design. The service can automatically be composed from pre-defined and pre-deployed components.

This dissertation examines the role one aspect of the Jaina tradition plays in a globalized world in the 21st century vis-a-vis an economically viable, socially just, and ecologically sustainable society. I address this by means of an in-depth study of dana (giving, gifting, charity) and dhyana (meditation) conducting a case study of preksadhyana, a form of meditation developed by the Terapanth, a Svetambara Jaina sect, in 1975 and their stance on dana. These practices, the Terapanth claim, are transformative on an individual and societal level. I argue that while preksadhyana’s spiritually transformative influence remains narrowly circumscribed to the individual level, nevertheless it allows the Terapanth to participate in the booming economy of the transnational yoga market. Yet, as my analyses of their historically controversial position on dana vis-a-vis the Jaina position on dana and the recent change in this position within the Terapanth reveal, their ability to transform the world is limited to their own community. I explore, through participation/observation, how preksadhyana as a performative ritual brings an individual closer to spiritual liberation, and attempt to demonstrate how the Terapanth construct this practice as a form of modern yoga by using authoritative discourses of science and scripture. I conclude by offering some final iii thoughts on how successful the Terapanth are in their dissemination of preksadhyana to a global audience and what role the authoritative discourses of science and scripture play in the evaluation and/or erosion of Jaina theology.

This dissertation examines the role one aspect of the Jaina tradition plays in a globalized world in the 21st century vis-a-vis an economically viable, socially just, and ecologically sustainable society. I address this by means of an in-depth study of dana (giving, gifting, charity) and dhyana (meditation) conducting a case study of preksadhyana, a form of meditation developed by the Terapanth, a Svetambara Jaina sect, in 1975 and their stance on dana. These practices, the Terapanth claim, are transformative on an individual and societal level. I argue that while preksadhyana’s spiritually transformative influence remains narrowly circumscribed to the individual level, nevertheless it allows the Terapanth to participate in the booming economy of the transnational yoga market. Yet, as my analyses of their historically controversial position on dana vis-a-vis the Jaina position on dana and the recent change in this position within the Terapanth reveal, their ability to transform the world is limited to their own community. I explore, through participation/observation, how preksadhyana as a performative ritual brings an individual closer to spiritual liberation, and attempt to demonstrate how the Terapanth construct this practice as a form of modern yoga by using authoritative discourses of science and scripture. I conclude by offering some final iii thoughts on how successful the Terapanth are in their dissemination of preksadhyana to a global audience and what role the authoritative discourses of science and scripture play in the evaluation and/or erosion of Jaina theology.