Image/video segmentation is a basic but important step in image processing. In some basic image processing works such as video analysis, video object recognition, etc., or some high level applications such as military surveillance, content-based video retrieval, etc., all the frames have to be segmented into meaningful parts at first. And then those parts can further be processed. MPEG-4 multimedia communication standard enables the content-based functionalities by using the video objects plane as the basic coding element. From the point of view of human vision system, video segmentation segments meaningful parts from the video stream that conform to what human vision feels. Because while seeing a scene by human naked eye, the scene is composed of many objects, not pixel by pixel. In this thesis, we will focus on the image/video segmentation and its applications. One of our goals in this thesis is to design and implement an image/video segmentation system based on existing methods, which are widely used in image/video segmentation nowadays. We decompose the system into several stages, each of which performs a specific task. Then, based on the output of each stage, we can refine the algorithms in that stage to obtain a better result. We can retrieve areas from image data which more accurately conform to what human vision system feels. In other words, we retrieve the moving part, say, foreground, from the static background. After obtaining the segmentation results, a compression algorithm such as MPEG-4 can be used to compress these retrieved regions, which is referred to as content-based coding. Besides, other image processing applications can be further developed. For example, remote surveillance and monitoring system can be developed for detecting the moving objects using the segmentation algorithms described in this thesis.

A new technique, called the polymerization algorithm, is described for the hierarchical segmentation of polymerized volume data sets (PVDS) using the Lblock data structure. The Lblock data structure is defined as a 3dimensional isorectangular block of enhanced vertex information. Segmentation of the PVDS is attained by intersecting and merging Lblock coverings of the enhanced volumetric data. The data structure allows for easy compression, storage, segmentation, and reconstruction of volumetric data obtained from scanning a mammalian brain at submicron resolution, using threedimensional light microscopy (knifeedge scanning microscopy (KESM), confocal microscopy (CFM), and multiphoton microscopy (MPM)). A hybrid technique using the polymerization algorithm and an existing vectorbased tracing algorithm is developed. Both the polymerized and the hybrid algorithm have been tested and their analyzed results are presented.

Archetypes, as defined by Carl Jung, are "a universal and recurring image, pattern, or motif representing a typical human experience." Thus they are thoughtful representations of human characteristics that essentially describe universal human motivations. In advertising, archetypes have been used to help define brands and present them to consumers in a meaningful way. This report proposes to validate the usage of archetypes as a tool to bolster the storytelling aspect of brands to the consumer. The suggestion here is that brands that are challenged in reaching today’s complex global consumer can evoke the desired brand meaning by incorporating values of the appropriate archetypes. The author also believes that understanding an individual’s archetypes can help uncover insights that relate to aspects of their values and attitudes for brands and, in that way, those archetypes can be a reasonable predictor of affective reactions to symbolic advertisement communication. / text

Market segmentation is a multicriterion problem. This dissertation addresses the multicriterion nature of market segmentation with a new unified segmentation model that is derived from multiobjective conceptual framework. The unified model elegantly solves the intrinsic antagonistic problem of market segmentation by generating a set of Pareto optimal solutions that represents different tradeoffs among multiple conflicting objectives. This dissertation develops an innovative implementation named Multicriterion Market Segmentation using Evolutionary Algorithm (MMSEA). Based on multiobjective evolutionary algorithms, MMSEA overcomes many limitations and disadvantages of existing methods by optimizing multiple objectives simultaneously, searching for globally optimal solutions and generating a set of Pareto optimal solutions. It also suggests the interesting solutions based on the geometric characteristics of Pareto front. The method was applied to customer value and benefit segmentation for the cell phone service market (a descriptive segmentation model) and customer response segmentation for a national retailer (two predictive segmentation models). The empirical evaluation shows that the proposed unified market segmentation model and solution techniques provide the decision makers with many insights and enhanced flexibility that are missing in existing market segmentation methods.

Segmentation is one of the most fundamental corner stones in the theory of marketing. It has been a subject for research for over 60 years. The subject has been actualised because of the lack of research within the practice of segmentation. There is an obvious gap between how the theories are recommending the companies to practice segmentation and how the companies actually do it. Attempts have been made to cover the gaps between theory and practice through providing implementation strategies, but still the gap remains. We will in our degree project focus on the gap between theoretical segmentation and practical segmentation within the service sector. Our conclusions from this degree project have the aim to provide information regarding 'how' companies practise segmentation within this setting. Therefore the research question we have conducted is: How are Swedish service companies practicing segmentation in their business? Our research question is answered through three main objectives, which together creates our conceptual framework that is tied to theories regarding business-to-business segmentation, CRM and the service setting. The data collected were done by the use of a qualitative method, through semi-structured i nterviews with seven companies from the service sector. The respondents from the companies were mostly marketing managers with insight regarding their company’s segmentation strategy. The empirical findings were analysed in comparison to our theoretical framework, to establish the difference between theory and practise. Main conclusions drawn from our degree project were that the companies understood the importance of segmentation. However the difference between theory and practise were large, companies adapted the basics but rather than creating a strategy of which customer to pursue, the majority acted retroactively trying to capture every customer as an initial step, to later focus on a specific group. The reasons found for this behaviour was that the companies applied a short-term focus rather than a long term, not having enough time to spend on segmenting and the fear that by using segmentation they might miss other customers in the process. Recommendations to the practitioners of segmentation, is to have a more long-term focus, as well as to be decisive in their segmentation. Future studies are recommended to focus on where within an organization the responsibility for segmentation should lie and the relationship between CRM and Segmentation in the service industry.

The central concern in the thesis is the relationship between the 'concept of ideology' and the philosophies, motivations and lived experience of Youth Training Scheme (YTS) trainees and trainers. This incorporates both the application, effects and impact of official ideologies, expressed in youth policy initiatives and ideologies of the wider society. This in turn is related to the cultural and societal reproduction of young people as gendered and class specific workers in a segmented labour market. The empirical data were collected over a 20 month period at two off-the-job training establishments in the city of Surfton in the South West region of Britain and consisted of questionnaires participant observations and interviews. The first part of the thesis critically reviews the social science literature relating to the new vocationalism, the YTS, labour market segmentation and the concept of ideology. This establishes a series of theoretical concerns which are then tested against empirical data. The thesis demonstrates how formalised official ideologies are mediated through the YTS curriculum and affect the philosophies of both the trainers who implement this curriculum and the trainees who receive this curriculum. The thesis illustrates that YTS participants may support, reinterpret or subvert the official philosophies of the YTS by actually bringing meaning into their lived experiences via ideologies associated with their historical, positional, family class and gendered backgrounds. The thesis will show that the trainees learn not so much technical knowledge, but how to acquire the ideological and practical cultural meanings of a series of workers for a segmented labour market, with greater or lesser collusion from their trainers. The thesis contributes to existing knowledge both at the level of data generation and by illustrating a series of complex, refined and subtle ideological mechanisms which contribute further to our understanding of the microsociology of inequality.

This paper describes the use of corporate decision and strategy simulations as a decision-support instrument under varying market conditions in the tourism industry. It goes on to illustrate this use of simulations with an experiment which investigates how successful different market segmentation approaches are in destination management. The experiment assumes a competitive environment and various cycle-length conditions with regard to budget and strategic planning. Computer simulations prove to be a useful management tool, allowing customized experiments which provide insight into the functioning of the market and therefore represent an interesting tool for managerial decision support. The main drawback is the initial setup of a customized computer simulation, which is time-consuming and involves defining parameters with great care in order to represent the actual market environment and to avoid excessive complexity in testing cause-effect-relationships. (author's abstract) / Series: Report Series SFB "Adaptive Information Systems and Modelling in Economics and Management Science"

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-51).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Zürich.