The NITE XML Toolkit: Data Model and Query Language

The NITE XML Toolkit (NXT) is open source software for working with language corpora, with particular strengths for multimodal and heavily cross-annotated data sets. In NXT, annotations are described by types and attribute value pairs, and can relate to signal via start and end times, to representations of the external environment, and to each other via either an arbitrary graph structure or a multi-rooted tree structure characterized by both temporal and structural orderings. Simple queries in NXT express variable bindings for n-tuples of objects, optionally constrained by type, and give a set of conditions on the n-tuples combined with boolean operators. The defined operators for the condition tests allow full access to the timing and structural properties of the data model. A complex query facility passes variable bindings from one query to another for filtering, returning a tree structure. In addition to describing NXTȁ9s core data handling and search capabilities, we explain the stand-off XML data storage format that it employs and illustrate its use with examples from an early adopter of the technology.     

Processing: programming for the media arts

Processing is a programming language and environment built for the media arts communities. It is created to teach fundamentals of computer programming within the media arts context and to serve as a software sketchbook. It is used by students, artists, designers, architects, and researchers for learning, prototyping, and production. This essay discusses the ideas underlying the software and presents its relationship to open source software and the idea of software literacy. Additionally, Processing is discussed in relation to education and online communities.     

Efficient memory representation of XML document trees

Implementations that load XML documents and give access to them via, e.g., the DOM, suffer from huge memory demands: the space needed to load an XML document is usually many times larger than the size of the document. A considerable amount of memory is needed to store the tree structure of the XML document. In this paper, a technique is presented that allows to represent the tree structure of an XML document in an efficient way. The representation exploits the high regularity in XML documents by compressing their tree structure; the latter means to detect and remove repetitions of tree patterns. Formally, context-free tree grammars that generate only a single tree are used for tree compression. The functionality of basic tree operations, like traversal along edges, is preserved under this compressed representation. This allows to directly execute queries (and in particular, bulk operations) without prior decompression. The complexity of certain computational problems like validation against XML types or testing equality is investigated for compressed input trees.     

The comparative efficacy of 2D- versus 3D-based media design for influencing spatial visualization skills

This study explored the effects of 2D- versus 3D-based media representations on the influence of the spatial visualization ability of undergraduate science majors. A pre-test/post-test comparison-group experiment was conducted with 23 participants involved in the study. Participating students were randomly assigned either to the interactive 3D media representation group (n = 13) or the conventional 2D media representation group (n = 10); learning materials in both groups deliver the same information to students, but employ different media representations. All the activities were performed in a self-paced, web-based instructional system. The results of ANCOVA analysis showed statistically insignificant difference between groups in terms of students’ post-test scores on the spatial visualization ability test with the students’ pre-test scores as the covariate. However, a medium effect size was observed in favor of the 3D group in terms of practical significance. As a pilot study with a small sample size aiming to probe the research direction of this problem, the result of medium-sized effect magnitude is likely to implicate that the discrepancy of different representational design on students’ performance of spatial ability assessment is noteworthy. Future study of this nature appears to merit further replications and investigations.     

Modeling user context with applications to media retrieval

In this paper, we develop a theoretical understanding of multi-sensory knowledge and user context and their inter-relationships. This is used to develop a generic representation framework for multi-sensory knowledge and context. A representation framework for context can have a significant impact on media applications that dynamically adapt to user needs. There are three key contributions of this work: (a) theoretical analysis, (b) representation framework and (c) experimental validation. Knowledge is understood to be a dynamic set of multi-sensory facts with three key properties – multi-sensory, emergent and dynamic. Context is the dynamic subset of knowledge that affects the communication between entities. We develop a graph based, multi-relational representation framework for knowledge, and model its temporal dynamics using a linear dynamical system. Our approach results in a stable and convergent system. We applied our representation framework to a image retrieval system with a large collection of photographs from everyday events. Our experimental validation with the retrieval evaluated against two reference algorithms indicates that our context based approach provides significant gains in real-world usage scenarios.     

高度场八叉树的体特征表达算法

体特征表达对用户理解和认知虚拟环境有着至关重要的作用。当前的体特征表达算法由于存储量大且不易于在GPU中加速等问题,渲染效率低下,难以满足场景可视化的实时性需求。针对这一问题,提出了一种高效的高度场八叉树体特征表达算法,不仅解决了传统高度场仅能表达2.5维模型,无法表达真三维模型的问题,而且为体特征表达提供了一种新的可行途径。算法使用八叉树结构生成三维模型的高度场表示,将传统的z向高度场扩展到x,y,z三个方向的高度场。首先,提出了三角面片预处理方法,保证模型精度和数据的完整性;其次,提出了基于投影变换的高度场表示判断及栅格化方法,将几何图元转换成二维空间的高度场数据;最后,提出了基于高度场八叉树的光线投射算法。实验结果表明,算法能极大地减少存储量,具有较高的光线投射效率,表达三维模型时取得较好效果。     

有效用于人脸识别的光照不变特征表示算法

在光照变化环境下,人脸识别的鲁棒性是人脸识别系统中一大挑战。针对光照变化对人脸识别的影响,对经典光照不变特征表示算法进行了研究,提出一种基于局部标准差光照不变的人脸特征表示算法及其加权形式。结合完备线性鉴别分析（Complete-Linear Discriminant Analysis,C-LDA）算法提取特征,在Extended Yale-B与YALE 人脸库中,与其他处理光照变化的经典方法相比,如多尺度Retinex（Multi Scale Retinex,MSR）、韦伯脸（Weber-Face,WF）和局部归一化（Local Normalization,LN）,提出的算法能获得更高识别率。     

BOX: Browsing objects in XML

The latest Internet markup languages support the representation of structured information and vector graphics. In this paper we describe how these languages can be used to publish software engineering diagrams on the Internet. We introduce BOX, a portable, distributed and interoperable approach to browsing UML models with off‐the‐shelf technology. Our approach to browsing UML models leverages XML and related specifications, such as the Document Object Model (DOM), the XML Metadata Interchange (XMI) and the Vector Markup Language (VML). BOX translates a UML model that is represented in XMI into VML. VML can be directly displayed in Internet browsers, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer 5. BOX enables software engineers to access and review UML models without the need to purchase licenses of tools that produced the models. BOX has been successfully evaluated in two industrial case studies. The case studies used BOX to make extensive domain and enterprise object models available to a large number of stakeholders over corporate intranets and the Internet. We show how XML and the BOX architecture can be applied to other software engineering notations. We also argue that the approach taken in BOX can be applied to other domains that have already started to adopt XML and have a need for graphic representation of XML information. These include browsing gene sequences, chemical molecule structures and conceptual knowledge representations. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于社交特征的多维度文本表示方法

Web文本表示方法作为所有Web文本分析的基础工作,对文本分析的结果有深远的影响。提出了一种多维度的Web文本表示方法。传统的文本表示方法一般都是从文本内容中提取特征,而文档的深层次特征和外部特征也可以用来表示文本。本文主要研究文本的表层特征、隐含特征和社交特征,其中表层特征和隐含特征可以由文本内容中提取和学习得到,而文本的社交特征可以通过分析文档与用户的交互行为得到。所提出的多维度文本表示方法具有易用性,可以应用于各种文本分析模型中。在实验中,改进了两种常用的文本聚类算法——K-means和层次聚类算法,并命名为多维度K-means MDKM和多维度层次聚类算法MDHAC。通过大量的实验表明了本方法的高效性。此外,我们在各种特征的结合实验结果中还有一些深层次的发现。     

基于稀疏表示和特征选择的LK目标跟踪

为了实现复杂场景中的视觉跟踪, 提出了一种以LK（Lucas-Kanade）图像配准算法为框架, 基于稀疏表示的在线特征选择机制。在视频序列的每一帧, 筛选出一些能够很好区分目标及其相邻背景的特征, 从而降低干扰对跟踪的影响。该算法分别构造前景字典和背景字典, 前景字典来自于第一帧的手动标定, 并随着跟踪结果不断更新, 而背景字典则在每一帧重新构造。同时, 一种新的字典更新策略不仅能有效应对目标的外观变化, 而且通过特征选择机制, 能避免在更新过程中引入干扰, 从而克服了漂移现象。 大量的实验结果表明, 该算法能有效应对视角变化、光照变化以及大面积的局部遮挡等挑战。     

RAG：一个基于重用的应用生成器

ＲＭＩＰＳ是在ＷＩＮＤＯＷＳ环境中研制的单片机接口程序原型开发系统。ＲＡＧ是ＲＭＩＰＳ系统所提供的一个基于重用的应用生成器。它基于图符化的用户界面和交互式的对话框输入，支持单片机应用程序的自动生成。     

Perceptions and use of electronic media: Testing the relationship between organizational interpretation differences and media richness

How do managers perceive and use media? Media richness theory (MRT) appears to provide persuasive answers to this, but does it work when electronic media is used? Surveys of Japanese managers showed that the perceptions of media, including electronic media, did not contradict MRT. But, even so, the use of rich media was found to be influenced more strongly by whether the media was traditional or electronic, with respect to organizational interpretation of its environment. The perception and use of electronic media may not correspond, though they have generally been assumed to do so.     

Studying the XML Web: Gathering Statistics from an XML Sample

XML has emerged as the language for exchanging data on the web and has attracted considerable interest both in industry and in academia. Nevertheless, to date, little is known about the XML documents published on the web. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of a sample of about 200,000 XML documents on the web, and is the first study of its kind. We study the distribution of XML documents across the web in several ways; moreover, we provided a detailed characterization of the structure of real XML documents. Our results provide valuable input to the design of algorithms, tools and systems that use XML in one form or another. An erratum to this article is available at .     

基于对称Gabor特征和稀疏表示的人脸识别

受启发于人脸近似对称的先验知识,提出一种基于对称Gabor特征的稀疏表示算法并成功运用于人脸识别。首先把人脸图像进行镜像变换得到其镜像图像,进而将人脸分解为奇偶对称脸。在奇偶对称脸上分别提取Gabor特征,得到Gabor奇偶对称特征。通过一个加权因子,将奇偶特征融合生成新的特征。最后用这种新的特征构成超完备字典进行稀疏表示人脸分类。在人脸数据库AR和FERET上的实验结果表明所提算法在人脸有表情、姿势和光照变化情况下仍能获得较高的识别率。     

A new method for expiration code detection and recognition using gabor features based collaborative representation

Text in images and video contains important information for visual content understanding, indexing, and recognizing. Extraction of this information involves preprocessing, localization and extraction of the text from a given image. In this paper, we propose a novel expiration code detection and recognition algorithm by using Gabor features and collaborative representation based classification. The proposed system consists of four steps: expiration code location, character isolation, Gabor features extraction and characters recognition. For expiration code detection, the Gabor energy (GE) and the maximum energy difference (MED) are extracted. The performance of the recognition algorithm is tested over three Gabor features: GE, magnitude response (MR) and imaginary response (IR). The Gabor features are classified based on collaborative representation based classifier (GCRC). To encompass all frequencies and orientations, downsampling and principal component analysis (PCA) are applied in order to reduce the features space dimensionality. The effectiveness of the proposed localization algorithm is highlighted and compared with other existing methods. Extensive testing shows that the suggested detection scheme outperforms existing methods in terms of detection rate for large image database. Also, GCRC show very competitive results compared with Gabor feature sparse representation based classification (GSRC). Also, the proposed system outperforms the nearest neighbor (NN) classifier and the collaborative representation based classification (CRC).     

Integration of product design,process planning,scheduling, and FMS control using XML data representation

An efficient model for communications between CAD, CAPP, and CAM applications in distributed manufacturing planning environment has been seen as key ingredient for CIM. Integration of design model with process and scheduling information in real-time is necessary in order to increase product quality, reduce the cost, and shorten the product manufacturing cycle. This paper describes an approach to integrate key product realization activities using neutral data representation. The representation is based on established standards for product data exchange and serves as a prototype implementation of these standards. The product and process models are based on object-oriented representation of geometry, features, and resulting manufacturing processes. Relationships between objects are explicitly represented in the model (for example, feature precedence relations, process sequences, etc.). The product model is developed using XML-based representation for product data required for process planning and the process model also uses XML representation of data required for scheduling and FMS control. The procedures for writing and parsing XML representations have been developed in object-oriented approach, in such a way that each object from object-oriented model is responsible for storing its own data into XML format. Similar approach is adopted for reading and parsing of the XML model. Parsing is performed by a stack of XML handlers, each corresponding to a particular object in XML hierarchical model. This approach allows for very flexible representation, in such a way that only a portion of the model (for example, only feature data, or only the part of process plan for a single machine) may be stored and successfully parsed into another application. This is very useful approach for direct distributed applications, in which data are passed in the form of XML streams to allow real-time on-line communication. The feasibility of the proposed model is verified in a couple of scenarios for distributed manufacturing planning that involves feature mapping from CAD file, process selection for several part designs integrated with scheduling and simulation of the FMS model using alternative routings.     

财务软件中XML接口的设计

针对目前财务软件和其它软件数据交换问题，本文尝试用XML技术来解决此问题。本文首先简单地介绍了XML技术，在此基础上提出了财务软件XML接口的作用、目标和设计。     

Search spaces representation in optimization problems

We present formally a search space representation method in combinatorial optimization problems, as well as a tool for the visualization of the trajectories of heuristic algorithms based on this method. A software that develops the ideas of the formal method is presented. Several numerical examples are given.     

An assessment of a new technique for the representation of boolean matrices

A general-purpose method, based on a sparse matrix approach, is proposed for the representation of boolean matrices, and algorithms are presented both for representation formation and element access. The method is then compared with the bit-map approach using the criteria of storage requirements, element access time, and execution time for logical operations on the whole matrix. Finally the conditions are discussed under which the proposed method may be profitably used in preference to the bit-map approach.