Media Research Center

About: Media Research Center is a based out in . It is known for research contribution in the topics: Collaborative learning & Educational technology. The organization has 491 authors who have published 950 publications receiving 28581 citations. The organization is also known as: MRC.

Hierarchical background subtraction using local pixel clustering

Abstract: We propose a robust hierarchical background subtraction technique which takes the spatial relations of neighboring pixels in a local region into account to detect objects in difficult conditions. Our algorithm combines a per-pixel with a per-region background model in a hierarchical manner, which accentuates the advantages of each. This is a natural combination because the two models have complementary strengths. The per-pixel background model is achieved by mixture of Gaussians models (GMM) with RGB feature. Although precisely describing background change in high resolution, it suffers from the sensitivity to quick variations in dynamic environment. To tolerate these quick variations, we further develop a novel GMM based per-region background model, which is updated by the cluster centers obtained from a k-means clustering of the pixelspsila RGB feature in the region. Numerical and qualitative experimental results on challenging videos demonstrate the robustness of the proposed method.

Same Same, but Different: Word and Sentence Reading in German and English

Abstract: The current study compared eye fixation patterns during word and sentence processing in a consistent and an inconsistent alphabetic orthography. German and English children as well as adults matched on word reading ability read matched sentences while their eye fixation behavior was recorded. Results indicated that German children read in a more small-unit plodder-like style with more diligent first-pass reading and less rereading. In contrast, English children read in a more large-unit explorer-like style with a greater tendency to skip words, and more regressions. It is important that these cross-linguistic processing differences largely persisted in the adult readers. Orthographic consistency thus influences both local word recognition and global sentence processing in developing and skilled readers.

Rising alcohol consumption and a high prevalence of problem drinking in black men and women in Cape Town: the CRIBSA study

Abstract: Background To determine the prevalence and determinants of problematic alcohol use (CAGE ≥2) in 25–74-year-old black population in Cape Town in 2008/2009 and examine the changes in self-reported alcohol consumption between 1990 and 2008/2009 in 25–64-year-olds. Methods In 2008/2009, a representative cross-sectional sample, stratified for age and sex, was randomly selected from the same townships sampled in 1990. Socio-demographic characteristics, the ability to cope with psychosocial stress (sense of coherence) and adverse life events were determined. Ordinal logistic regression analysis assessed the determinants of problem drinking. Results There were 1099 participants, 392 men and 707 women, in 2008/2009. Prevalence of alcohol consumption in 2008/2009 (men: 68.5%, 95% CI 62.7 to 73.7; women: 27.4%, 95% CI 23.7 to 31.5) was higher than in 1990 (men: 56.7%, women: 15.1%). Prevalence of problem drinking was significantly higher in men (49.7%, 95% CI 44.6 to 54.9) than in women (18.1% 95% CI 15.3 to 21.2) (p 7 years of education (p=0.012), being unemployed compared with employed (p=0.008) and coping poorly with stress (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.05, p=0.042), and in women with spending more than half their life in the city (p Conclusions Problem drinking is a major problem in this population and requires urgent interventions to curtail the misuse.

Analyzing the flow of ideas and profiles of contributors in an open learning community

Abstract: This paper provides an introduction to the scientometric method of main path analysis and its application to detecting idea flows in an online learning community using data from Wikiversity We see this as a step forward in adapting and adopting network analysis techniques for analyzing the evolution of artifacts in knowledge building communities The analysis steps are presented in detail including the description of a tool environment ("workbench") designed for flexible use by non-computer experts Through the definition of directed acyclic graphs the meaningful interconnectedness of learning resources is made accessible to analysis in consideration of the temporal sequence of their creation during a collaborative process The potential of the method is elaborated for analyzing the overall learning process of a community as well as the individual contributions of the participants