Pictorial cues, together with motion and stereoscopic depth fields, can be used for perception and constitute ‘three kinds’ of vision. Edges in images are important features and can be created in either of these attributes. Are local edge and global shape detection processes attribute-specific? Three visual phenomena, believed to be due to low-level visual processes, were used as probes to address these issues. (1) Tilt illusions (misperceived orientation of a bar caused by an inducing grating) were used to investigate possible binding of edges across attributes. Double dissociation of tilt repulsion illusions (obtained with small orientation differences between inducer and bar) and attraction illusions (obtained with large orientation differences) suggest different mechanisms for their origins. Repulsion effects are believed to be due to processes in striate cortex and attraction because of higher level processing. The double dissociation was reproduced irrespective of the attributes used to create the inducing grating and the test-bar, suggesting that the detection and binding of edges across attributes take place in striate cortex. (2) Luminance-based illusory contour perception is another phenomenon believed to be mediated by processes in early visual cortical areas. Illusory contours can be cued by other attributes as well. Detection facilitation of a near-threshold luminous line occurred when it was superimposed on illusory contours irrespective of the attributes used as inducers. The result suggests attribute-independent activation of edge detectors, responding to real as well as illusory contours. (3) The performance in detecting snake-like shapes composed of aligned oriented elements embedded in randomly oriented noise elements was similar irrespective of the attributes used to create the elements. Performance when the attributes alternated along the path was superior to that predicted with an independent channel model. These results are discussed in terms of binding across attributes by feed-forward activation of orientation selective attribute-invariant cells (conjunction cells) in early stages of processing and contextual modulation and binding across visual space mediated by lateral and/or feedback signals from higher areas (dynamic binding).

We propose an approach for supporting attribute exploration by web information retrieval, in particular by posing appropriate queries to search engines, crowd sourcing systems, and the linked open data cloud. We discuss underlying general assumptions for this to work and the degree to which these can be taken for granted.

This thesis consists of two studies together with a preliminary study, focusing on the issue of ingroup representation of the &uuml / lk&uuml / c&uuml / group. The first study, addressing the problems of stereotype content, stereotype accuracy, and stereotype consensus, was based on in-depth interviewing with twenty members of the &uuml / lk&uuml / c&uuml / group. It was hypothesized that the group members, when their social identities were salient, would locate the ingroup within a chronic way of looking at the world, namely the perceived context. The accuracy of stereotypes and the stereotype consensus commonly observed among group members depended upon the efficiency of this perceived context as an explanation. Moreover, the favorability of stereotype content also derived heavily from this perceived context. The second study, based on two hundreds &uuml / lk&uuml / c&uuml / group members, examined the effects of target group (ingroup, close outgroup, distant outgroup), type of attributes (favorable, unfavorable), comparative context (intragroup, intergroup with close outgroup, intergroup with distant outgroup, multigroup), and level of identification with the ingroup (high-identifiers, low-identifiers) on the perceptions of homogeneity. A number of hypotheses were tested and the following results were found: First, group members perceived the ingroup as more positively homogeneous than both the close and the distant outgroup. Moreover, the close outgroup was perceived as more positively homogeneous than the distant outgroup. In fact, the distant outgroup was perceived as negatively homogeneous. Second, group members perceived both the ingroup and the close outgroup as more positively homogeneous in terms of unfavorable attributes than in terms of favorable ones. On the contrary, they tended to perceive the distant outgroup as more negatively homogeneous in terms of favorable attributes than in terms of unfavorable ones. Third, the above perceptions were less accentuated in the intragroup context, while they were more accentuated in the multigroup context. Fourth, the above perceptions were more accentuated for the high-identifiers than for the low-identifiers. Apart from these main effects, a number of complicated interactions were also discovered and these results were discussed with reference to the relevant literature.

In the current pluralistic societies, public policy-makings had to take into account various stakeholders as well as the social values. The research, based on the integrated public affairs management¡]PAM¡^ framework (Wang et al., 2004a) and place marketing strategy (Kotler, 1999), defined the applicable operational variables which includes three major factors of economical, social and political, and government, and nine derivative attributes, two situations of direct three-links between Taiwan and Mainland China, and status quo are used as the scenario. Altogether they will influence the stakeholders as decision-makers while deciding if they should invest, live, or work in Kaohsiung. For research design, we employed three major multiple-attribute theories or methods for individual stakeholders¡¦information processing and integration, Information Integration Theory¡]IIT¡^, Analytical Hierarchy Process¡]AHP¡^, Simple Multi-Attribute Rating Technique¡]SMART¡^, and Rating. In particular, the way the information is integrated cognitively is empirically examined instead of assumed with the averaging model of the IIT (Anderson, 1991a), and the scale values (equivalent to the utility component in MAUT or AHP) and the weights are concurrently separated and measured as results of the examination. Such separation rendered measurement of the psychological weights with theoretical validity possible, and could be used as the standard so that weights measured with the other three methods are evaluated and compared. Findings of the research are as follow, in the aspect of multiple-attribute weight measurement methods applied in the place marketing of Kaohsiung¡G 1. Among the three major factors, the most important is ¡§economic development¡¨, the second is ¡§government function¡¨, and then the third is ¡§social and political development¡¨. 2. For economic development, under the situation of maintain status quo, the most crucial derivative attribute is¡§ the level of economic globalization of Kaohsiung¡¨. The second one is ¡§the industrial structure of Kaohsiung city¡¨. The last one is ¡§the competitiveness of Kaohsiung Port and Airport project¡¨¡FUnder the situation of opening for three direct-links, the most crucial derivative attribute is still ¡§the level of economic globalization of Kaohsiung¡¨. The second one is ¡§the competitiveness of Kaohsiung Port and Airport project¡¨. The last one is ¡§the industrial structure of Kaohsiung city¡¨. 3. For the factor of social and political development, the most important attribute is ¡§the level of citizen participation in public affairs and the extent they influence public policies¡¨, the second is ¡§the public values and culture¡¨, the last is ¡§the operational mechanism of politics and election¡¨. 4. As for government function, the most essential attribute is ¡§the provision of public infrastructures¡¨. The second is ¡§the elected officials¡¦ perception of place marketing and capabilities of policy planning¡¨. The third is¡§the career officials¡¦ identifications for the elected officials¡¦ ambitions and abilities to carry out the place marketing policies¡¨. 5. The second group examinees think that direct-links has positive effects on the developments of Kaohsiung and most of them approve of the policy of three direct-links¡Fthe first group examinees have diverse opinions on it. 6. Based on PAM framework, we will sum up the problems of place marketing of Kaohsiung and brings out policy suggestions for Kaohsiung city. In the aspect of Multiple-attribute weight measurement methods theory¡G 1. Take the weight parameters derived from IIT¡¦s averaging model as the standard, weights from rating¡BAHP and SMART are all theoretically valid. The theoretical validity of rating outperforms that of AHP, AHP outperforms that of SMART. Among the convergence validity or consistence of four methods, between rating and AHP with IIT¡¦s averaging model fit better in convergence validity, between SMART and IIT¡¦s averaging model don¡¦t. 2. All three models had fairly high predictability and notable for subjects¡¦ holistic judgments. The predictability of IIT is the a little bit higher than SMART, the third one is AHP, and the last one is rating. 3. For convergence, measured with accumulative weights derived from subjects selected 15-20 examinees randomly, IIT was better than SMART, and SMART was better than AHP. 4. In terms of perceived performance, degree of operational easiness and fondness, the three models are not significantly different. As for the degree of confidence, IIT outperformed AHP, and AHP outperformed SMART.

The proposed research is in the area of attribute-based authorization systems. We address two specific research problems in this area. First, evaluating authorization policies in multi-authority systems where there are multiple stakeholders in the disclosure of sensitive data. The research proposes to consider all the relevant policies related to authorization in real time upon the receipt of an access request and to resolve any differences that these individual policies may have in authorization. Second, to enable a lot of entities to participate in the authorization process by asserting attributes on behalf of the principal accessing resources. Since it is required that these asserted attributes be trusted by the authorization system, it is necessary that these entities are themselves trusted by the authorization system. Two frameworks are proposed to address these issues. In the first contribution a dynamic authorization system is proposed which provides conflict detection and resolution among applicable policies in a multi-authority system. The authorization system is dynamic in nature and considers the context of an access request to adapt its policy selection, execution and conflict handling based on the access environment. Efficient indexing techniques are used to increase the speed of authorization policy loading and evaluation. In the second contribution, we propose a framework for service providers to evaluate trust in entities asserting on behalf of service users in real time upon receipt of an access request. This trust evaluation is done based on a reputation system model, which is designed to protect itself against known attacks on reputation systems.

<p>The aim of this thesis is to study how words denoting age are used in newspaper texts. I have chosen mainly to study the following Swedish focus words for females and males of different ages (<em>flicka, kvinna, tjej, dam; pojke, man, kille</em> and <em>herre</em>) as they relate to age. Furthermore, age lexemes – different variations of Swedish expressions of age – are investigated and finally also a number of new Swedish expressions that are used to describe age – <em>kids, förtis, grups, tweenie, mappie, senior</em> and what I call “plus gradings” – e.g. 50 +.</p><p>The study is particularly concerned with where and how age is referred to and how the chosen focus words relate in different ways to age and sex – and finally also with how these things have changed over time. I have examined newspaper corpora from three separate years – 1965, 1987 and 2000. My theoretical perspective is social constructivist, age being understood as something that is constructed and negotiated in language use. As for method, I adopt a corpus linguistic approach – large corpora and quantitative language patterns in frequencies and lexical content. Thus, my investigation is aimed at the focus words, the age lexemes and the terms in their linguistic contexts, primarily as regards adjective attributes, lexical relations and collocations.</p><p>My conclusion is that the examined expressions occur in different contexts and are used in different ways, but are not always related to age or age differentiation. I have noticed a couple of tendencies; one relates to vagueness when it comes to age and one relates to a semantic division of labour. The focus words are both used as synonyms and as oppositions, and they refer to referents belonging to different age groups. At the same time there is a clear division of labour between them in that variation in many contexts relates more to subject and contextual pattern than to different chronological ages. Ihave also noticed that chronological age is generally used when something is unusual, deviant or when the context has to do with crime, sports, (change of or debut in) a profession, birthday announcements etc.</p> / <p>Den här avhandlingen undersöker hur ålder används språkligt i tidningstext. Utgångspunkten är hur ålder har förändrats. Framförallt är det fokusorden <em>flicka, pojke, man, kvinna, kille, tjej, dam</em> och <em>herre</em> som i relation till ålder undersöks i avhandlingen. Därutöver studeras ålderslexem - olika variationer av de språkliga uttrycken ålder och år och slutligen även ett antal nya begrepp som förekommer i relation till ålder – <em>kids, förtis, grups, tweenie, mappie, senior</em> och det jag kallar för plusgraderingar – t ex 50 +.</p><p>Frågor jag ställer mig har med var och hur ålder förekommer och hur de utvalda fokusorden relateras på olika sätt till ålder och till kön – och slutligen hur detta har förändrats över tid. Jag har studerat tidningskorpusar från tre olika årtal – 1965, 1987 och 2000. Teoretiskt utgår jag från ett socialkonstruktivistiskt perspektiv där ålder ses som någonting som konstrueras och förhandlas i språkanvändningen. Metodologiskt utgår jag från ett korpuslingvistiskt synsätt - stora textkorpusar och kvantitativa språkliga mönster i frekvenser och lexikalt innehåll. Jag studerar alltså fokusorden, ålderslexemen och de nya begreppen i sina språkliga kontexter, och då framförallt adjektivattribut, lexikala relationer och kollokationer.</p><p>Jag kommer fram till att de olika språkliga uttrycken förekommer i olika typer av kontexter och på olika sätt, men att det långt ifrån alltid har med ålder eller med åldersdifferentiering att göra. Två olika tendenser är tydliga som har med åldersvaghet och arbetsfördelning att göra. De olika fokusorden både likställs och differentieras, och de används om referenter i olika ålderskategorier. Samtidigt är det en tydlig arbetsfördelning mellan dem där variationen i många sammanhang har mer med ämnen och innehållsliga mönster att göra, än med olika kronologiska åldrar. Jag har också kunnat konstatera att kronologisk ålder generellt används när någonting är ovanligt eller avvikande utifrån en åldersnorm eller när kontexterna har med idrott, debut eller byte av profession, födelse- och dödsannonser etc.</p>

In recent years, scholars have shown increasing interest in the concept of collective memory for structuring modern social understanding and political dialogue. However, surprisingly few studies have looked at the role that news media play the processes of collective political memory construction, reinterpretation, and change. This study contributes to the literature on collective memory construction, by helping clarify the means by which different news media serve as a site where collective memory is constructed, reinforced, and revised; and, 2) to identify which political actors and institutions act as sources to assert particular memory frames and what media subsidies they offer to influence the memory construction process. Specifically, the study undertook a two-stage longitudinal content analysis of news media to discern the ways former U.S. presidents (i.e., Truman, Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, and Ford) were memorialized in news media coverage at the time of their funerals, and then again in subsequent news media stories through 2012. The content analysis identified dominant news media frames and secondary attribute sub-frames as applied to former U.S. Presidents, and which news media sources and frame advocates are engaged in setting those frames. As a result, the study identified patterns of change and resilience in particular presidential memory frames as represented in news media, and found journalists—beyond other sources and frame advocates—play a significant role in both creating and revising those memories over time. A range of opportunities for further research are discussed. / text

The decision-making model was developed that allows solving multi-attribute problems of derelict buildings management from the perspective of sustainable development and under uncertainty. The model deals with the problem of developing the derelict buildings’ redevelopment variants and choosing the most rational one. Planning and technical components of an effective model in conformity with the main principles of sustainable development were proposed. The model of the sustainability indicator system for management of derelict buildings was designed. The developed system was applied to multi-attribute decision-making. A comparative analysis of the results was developed. The model was adjusted for modelling and evaluating the rational management of derelict rural buildings in Lithuania. The facilities of GIS for a spatial decision-making were adjusted to the analyzed problem of sustainable revitalization of derelict buildings.

No description available.

The decision-making model was developed that allows solving multi-attribute problems of derelict buildings management from the perspective of sustainable development and under uncertainty. The model deals with the problem of developing the derelict buildings’ redevelopment variants and choosing the most rational one. Planning and technical components of an effective model in conformity with the main principles of sustainable development were proposed. The model of the sustainability indicator system for management of derelict buildings was designed. The developed system was applied to multi-attribute decision-making. A comparative analysis of the results was developed. The model was adjusted for modelling and evaluating the rational management of derelict rural buildings in Lithuania. The facilities of GIS for a spatial decision-making were adjusted to the analyzed problem of sustainable revitalization of derelict buildings.