Virtual anthropology: a preliminary test of macroscopic observation versus 3D surface scans and computed tomography (CT) scans

Virtual anthropology (VA) is based on applying anthropological methods currently used to analyse bones to 3D models of human remains. While great advances have been made in this endeavour in the past decade, several interrogations concerning how reliable these models are and what their proper use should be remain unanswered. In this research, a fundamental assumption of VA has been investigated: if the way we perceive and apply an anthropological method is truly similar when looking at bones macroscopically and through various 3D media. In order to answer, 10 skulls of known age and sex were scanned using a computed tomography (CT) scanner and a 3D surface scanner. Two observers separately applied a defined staging method to eight suture sites on these skulls, first looking at the bone macroscopically, then at the 3D surface scan, and finally on the CT scan. Two rounds of observation were carried out by each observer. Intra- and inter-observer error were evaluated, and two sample t-tests used to evaluate if the different types of medium used yielded significantly different observations. The results show a high degree of inter-observer error, and that data obtained from 3D surface scans differ from macroscopic observation (confidence level 95%, P ≤ 0.05). CT scans, in these settings, yielded results comparable to those obtained through macroscopic observations. These results offer many possibilities for future research, including indications on the kind of anthropological methods and anatomical landmarks that might be reliably transferable to the virtual environment. All current methods used in traditional anthropology should be tested, and if they prove unreliable, new techniques to analyse bones from virtual models should be developed.

Key points

• Large discrepancies between observation on dry bones and computer-generated 3D models (surface scans or CT scans) could lead to the re-evaluation of the suitability of traditional anthropological methods for application on 3D models.
• This preliminary study evaluates whether macroscopic, 3D surface scans, and CT scans viewings generate different observations.
• The results indicate that the data are not always coherent across all three media of observation.
• Explanations include the aspect given to the bone by the 3D software, differences between handling bones in real life versus on a computer, and level of expertise of the observers.

     

Captivity,Confrontation, and Self‐Empowerment: identity in Forugh Farrokhzad’s poetry

In modern Iranian literature, Forugh Farrokhzad, undoubtedly, occupies a pivotal position. Her poetry presents the singular voice of an Iranian woman who dared to challenge the social and patriarchal boundaries imposed on Iranian women for centuries. Farrokhzad’s pioneering artistic career and her bold lifestyle created an unprecedented legacy for the woman artist in Iran. Her work defies all categories as she not only confronted the stereotypes forced on Iranian women’s identity, but she also challenged the long‐established tradition of the classic Persian poetry. In both arenas, Farrokhzad proved herself resilient and uncompromising. Her unique poetic voice articulates inclusion in literary and social activism and subversion from the mainstream male‐dominated literary circles. Confronting the individual and collective definitions of identity, and sexual and textual territories, Farrokhzad broke many boundaries and expressed the need for self‐awareness and affirmation of female identity. This study is an attempt, in part, to explore and investigate Farrokhzad’s rebellion against the confinement of self in the bondage of conformity and subjection and the delineation of her arduous journey to liberation and self‐empowerment.     

The relationship of perceptions and emotions to behavior in the face of collective inequality

The present experiment investigated the role of emotions and perceptions in determining the overt behavior of disadvantaged group members. Three limitations to the existing psychological research are presented as a possible reason for the present inability to describe a consistent relationship between the emotions and perceptions of those faced with intergroup inequalities and their subsequent actions. The present experiment attempted to address these limitations by employing a laboratory paradigm in which subjects actually engage in overt behavior. As well, a broader array of emotions and perceptions were assessed and subjects were offered a variety of behaviors from which to choose. The findings point to a relatively strong relationship between emotions and perceptions on the one hand, and overt action on the other. Feelings of frustration and anger, the perception of one's personal treatment as satisfactory and just, and hope of future improvement of one's position combined to discriminate between subjects who accepted their disadvantaged position, those who took normative forms of action, those who reacted in an individual nonnormative way, and those who chose collective nonnormative behavior.     

Integration and Identity in an International Context: Problems and Ambiguities in the New Politics of Multiculturalism

Debates about multiculturalism, minority rights, and identity dominated Anglo-American political theory during the majority of the 1990s, and continue to raise important questions concerning the nature of citizenship, community, and the responsibilities of liberal states. They were popular, too, among policy makers, politicians, and journalists: many academics and practitioners were, for a time, united in their support for multiculturalism. Just as the philosophical literature at that time became more 'multiculturalist', so many European states increasingly adopted multiculturalist policies as a way of including historically marginalised groups into mainstream liberal culture or, in some cases, as a way of protecting minority groups from unfair pressures from the majority culture. However, as time has gone on, the multiculturalist turn in liberal political theory, and among many European governments, has waned. In the wake of terrorist atrocities around the world, growing concerns about the erosion of civic and national identity, and fears that cultural recognition can permit illiberal practices, many academics and practitioners have sought to distance themselves from the idea that it is a role of the state to afford special treatment to cultural minorities, and have sought once again to emphasise those common bonds which unite citizens of liberal democratic states, rather than those cultural identities which may serve to divide them. This article evaluates some of the recent philosophical literature on multiculturalism against the changing political landscape in Britain and Europe and suggests that the multiculturalist position remains weakened by a number of crucial ambiguities.     

A Multimodal Fusion Approach for Bullet Identification Systems

In the field of forensic science, bullet identification is based on the fact that firing the cartridge from a barrel leaves exclusive microscopic striation on the fired bullets as the fingerprint of the firearm. The bullet identification methods are categorized in 2‐D and 3‐D based on their image acquisition techniques. In this study, we focus on 2‐D optical images using a multimodal technique and propose several distinct methods as its modalities. The proposed method uses a multimodal rule‐based linear weighted fusion approach which combines the semantic level decisions from different modalities with a linear technique that its optimized modalities weights have been identified by the genetic algorithm. The proposed approach was applied on a dataset, which includes 180 2‐D bullet images fired from 90 different AK‐47 barrels. The experimentations showed that our approach attained better results compared to common methods in the field of bullet identification.     

From page to virtual stage: a socio-semiotic reading of stage directions

ABSTRACT

The interrelatedness of text and performance is a feature of semiotic approaches to drama. Because of their relation to performance and to social life, dramatic texts are among the most complex texts. A dramatic text creates an imaginary world which is “staged” in readers’ imaginations. Clarifying the playwright’s vision and facilitating transformation of the play from text to performance, stage directions are key components for the interaction with readers and spectators. Stage directions act as useful interventions which lead the readers to the world of the play and guide them to imagine the three-dimensional stage space. The receivers of the dramatic text complete their semiotization through adding their own interpretation to a virtual performance which they then place against any performance they see. This paper investigates how stage directions function as a focalizing element of the text which are important to the interpretive possibilities of a play. The paper probes how stage directions can be illuminated by the sensitive application of socio-semiotics to the encoding of motifs and stage imagery in dramatic texts as a meeting point of life, culture and imagination that generates meanings which are highly sensitive to receivers’ social and cultural backgrounds. Examples from stage directions as an integral part in the plays of Sam Shepard, an American writer, will be the focus of the analysis.     

Blind Detection of Region Duplication Forgery Using Fractal Coding and Feature Matching

Digital image forgery detection is important because of its wide use in applications such as medical diagnosis, legal investigations, and entertainment. Copy–move forgery is one of the famous techniques, which is used in region duplication. Many of the existing copy–move detection algorithms cannot effectively blind detect duplicated regions that are made by powerful image manipulation software like Photoshop. In this study, a new method is proposed for blind detecting manipulations in digital images based on modified fractal coding and feature vector matching. The proposed method not only detects typical copy–move forgery, but also finds multiple copied forgery regions for images that are subjected to rotation, scaling, reflection, and a mixture of these postprocessing operations. The proposed method is robust against tampered images undergoing attacks such as Gaussian blurring, contrast scaling, and brightness adjustment. The experimental results demonstrated the validity and efficiency of the method.     

Idealism,realism, and immigration: David Miller’s Strangers in Our Midst

David Miller’s Strangers in Our Midst is an important contribution to the debate among political philosophers about how liberal democratic states should deal with the issue of migration. But it is also a thoughtful statement concerning how best to do political philosophy and, as such, contributes also to the growing debate within Anglo-American political theory about the relative merits of ‘ideal’ versus ‘non-ideal’ normative theorising. Miller’s argument in the book builds on his earlier published work in suggesting that political philosophy should be ‘for Earthlings’: it should not be understood as a process of ideal theorising which ignores political reality. He argues that normative theorists should seek to resolve complex political problems by taking seriously the political context that makes these problems complex, rather than putting aside that context in the interests of deriving first principles. This is a controversial approach, which requires political philosophers to take more seriously than they often do the expressed concerns of citizens living in democratic states and the practical problems associated with applying normative principles in ways which actually help address the issue at hand. This piece discusses some of these themes, and the issue of migration more generally, in order to help frame the debate which follows.