<p>The communication barriers between deaf and hearing society mean that interaction between these communities is kept to a minimum. The South African Sign Language research group, Integration of Signed and Verbal Communication: South African Sign Language Recognition and Animation (SASL), at the University of the Western Cape aims to create technologies to bridge the communication gap. In this thesis we address the subject of whole hand gesture recognition. We demonstrate a method to identify South African Sign Language classifiers using an eigenvector ap- proach. The classifiers researched within this thesis are based on those outlined by the Thibologa Sign Language Institute for SASL. Gesture recognition is achieved in real- time. Utilising a pre-processing method for image registration we are able to increase the recognition rates for the eigenvector approach.</p>

The multidimensional construct of perfectionism is well studied as it relates to coping with stress and burnout (Flett & Hewitt, 2002). Bontempo and Napier (2011) identify the personality trait of conscientiousness, which includes perfectionistic traits, as beneficial to an interpreter’s job performance. In contrast, several studies suggest that constructs related to maladaptive perfectionistic traits play a role in the development of burnout among interpreters, although perfectionism has not been explicitly identified or used as a research variable (Qin, Marshall, Mozrall, & Marschark, 2008). These studies identify key components of both adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism in the assessment of stress-related outcomes, thereby laying the groundwork for a more focused study on the particular role of perfectionism among interpreters who experience burnout. The multidimensional construct of perfectionism is well studied as it relates to coping with stress and burnout (Flett & Hewitt, 2002). Bontempo and Napier (2011) identify the personality trait of conscientiousness, which includes perfectionistic traits, as beneficial to an interpreter’s job performance. In contrast, several studies suggest that constructs related to maladaptive perfectionistic traits play a role in the development of burnout among interpreters, although perfectionism has not been explicitly identified or used as a research variable (Qin, Marshall, Mozrall, & Marschark, 2008). These studies identify key components of both adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism in the assessment of stress-related outcomes, thereby laying the groundwork for a more focused study on the particular role of perfectionism among interpreters who experience burnout. The current study evaluated the relationship between perfectionism, stress, coping resources and burnout in a sample of sign language interpreters. The results provided support for the mediating role of stress in the association of maladaptive perfectionism and burnout within a sign language interpreting sample. Coping resources did not serve as a moderator between perfectionism variables and burnout or a moderated mediator between perfectionism variables and perceived stress. The implications of these findings for sign language interpreters are discussed. The current study evaluated the relationship between perfectionism, stress, coping resources and burnout in a sample of sign language interpreters. The results provided support for the mediating role of stress in the association of maladaptive perfectionism and burnout within a sign language interpreting sample. Coping resources did not serve as a moderator between perfectionism variables and burnout or a moderated mediator between perfectionism variables and perceived stress. The implications of these findings for sign language interpreters are discussed.

This thesis aims to analyze the conventions of Character Design, and how one may innovate without losing visual communication. Focus is put on discussing stereotypical patterns as an inescapable but potentially harmful aspect of human behavior. The type of character being examined is the Mentor Archetype, as known in the Hero’s Journey, but also used throughout narrative in all its forms. A number of mentor characters from film, animation and video games are examined in order discern what common elements there are to the various depictions of mentors found throughout both historic and popular culture, and a small number of pictures displayed to prove points. The terms archetype, stereotype, cliché and sign are looked at, and their role in the area of Character Design examined, with support from literature and articles. The social, societal, psychological and philosophical ramifications of these terms and how they relate to Character Design and the audience are discussed with further support from literature and articles. Conclusions are drawn of the importance of innovation and the harmful nature of stereotypes, and new kinds of further research are suggested.

Students who are deaf and use sign language frequently have language delays that affect their literacy skills. Students who use American Sign Language (ASL) often lack fluent language models in both the home and school settings, delaying both the development of a first language and the development of literacy in printed English. Mediated and scaffolded instruction presented by a More Knowledgeable Other (MKO; Vygotsky, 1978, 1994) may facilitate acquisition of a first foundational language. Repeated viewings of fluent ASL models on DVDs paired with adult mediation has resulted in increases in vocabulary skills for DHH students who used ASL (Cannon, Fredrick, & Easterbrooks, 2010; Golos, 2010; Mueller & Hurtig, 2010). Classifiers are a syntactic sub-category of ASL vocabulary that provides a critical link between ASL and the meaning of English phrases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of teacher-mediated repeated viewings of ASL stories on DHH students’ classifier production during narrative retells. This study included 10 student participants in second, third, and fourth grades and three teacher participants from an urban day school for students who are DHH. The researcher used a multiple baseline across participants design followed by visual analysis and calculation of the percentage of non-overlapping data (PND; Scruggs, Mastropieri, & Casto, 1987) to examine the effects of the intervention. All students increased their classifier production during narrative retells following a combination of teacher mediation paired with repeated viewings of ASL models.

This report presents an algorithm for locating the cut points for and separatingvertically attached traffic signs in Sweden. This algorithm provides severaladvanced digital image processing features: binary image which representsvisual object and its complex rectangle background with number one and zerorespectively, improved cross correlation which shows the similarity of 2Dobjects and filters traffic sign candidates, simplified shape decompositionwhich smoothes contour of visual object iteratively in order to reduce whitenoises, flipping point detection which locates black noises candidates, chasmfilling algorithm which eliminates black noises, determines the final cut pointsand separates originally attached traffic signs into individual ones. At each step,the mediate results as well as the efficiency in practice would be presented toshow the advantages and disadvantages of the developed algorithm. Thisreport concentrates on contour-based recognition of Swedish traffic signs. Thegeneral shapes cover upward triangle, downward triangle, circle, rectangle andoctagon. At last, a demonstration program would be presented to show howthe algorithm works in real-time environment.

This thesis is focused on developing a robust algorithm for recognition of road signs including all stages of a machine vision system i.e. image acquisition, pre-processing, colour segmentation, labelling and classifi-cation. Images are acquired by two different imaging systems and noise removal is done by applying Mean filter. Furthermore, different colour segmentation methods are investigated to find out the most high-performance approach and after applying dynamic segmentation based on blue channel in YCbCr colour space, the obtained binary image is transferred to a personal computer through the developed PC software using standard serial port and further processing and classification is run on the PC. Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) is used as the main feature for recognition of road signs and finally the classification task is fulfilled by employing hardware efficient Minimum Distance Classifier (MDC).

No description available.

The main purpose of this study is to investigate eighth-grade students¡¦ understanding of the equal sign and analyzed error types of quadratic equation in one variable. To achieve this purpose, the investigator did a survey and development instruments. Participants were 215 eighth-grade students who formed a convenient sample. There are three results. First, participants with a relational definition of the equal sign added to about 80% of the sample. Second, the performance of students with relational definitions is higher than the performance of students with operational definitions. Third, students¡¦ understanding of the equal sign was related to their respective problem-solving performance on quadratic equation in one variable. In this study, participants with an operational definition of the equal sign tended to guess randomly or leave a blank. Problem-solving performance of participants with a relational definition of the equal sign involved multiple strategies. The researcher suggested that teachers should strengthen students¡¦ understanding of equal sign and related students¡¦ prior algebraic knowledge.

This thesis uses injection-locked oscillators to realize spectrum and vital sign sensor. At first, the thesis discusses the factors to affect the locking range based on Adler¡¦s equation, and adopts an increase of injection power to enlarge the locking range. Then, the circuit simulation using ADS is carried out to predict the output response of an injection-locked oscillator. As an implementation result, a CMOS chip of an injection-locked oscillator achieves 70 MHz locking range at -17.5 dBm injection power. In addition, a CMOS FM demodulator is realized with the injection-locked oscillator, showing that the chip can demodulate the FSK signal with a minimum frequency deviation of 350 KHz, a minimum input power of -39.5 dBm, and a maximum data rate of 40 Mbps. With the help of the above CMOS chips, a spectrum sensor and a vital sign sensor are realized. In the test, the spectrum sensor can measure a minimum signal power of -100 dBm at a scan speed of 100 MHz/0.5 ms, while the vital sign sensor can detect the breathing and heartbeat rate at a sensing distance of 80 cm.

<p>Detta arbete undersöker ett par olika tekniker för att implementera single sign on med Kerberos i webbapplikationer. Undersökningen har gjorts på HTTP-autentisering som bygger på Microsofts NegotiateAuth och Cosign från University of Michigan. Dessa två tekniker har undersökts för att se hur de står sig mot varandra på kriterier såsom komplexitet, arbetsinsats och mjukvarukrav.Resultatet visar att HTTP-autentisering är väldigt simpel att implementera men kräver dock att användarens webbläsare konfigureras för den. Cosign är mer komplext men använder sig av Cookies vilket gör att de flesta webbläsare stödjer tekniken utan extra konfiguration.</p>