In this paper, we study a blind deconvolution problem by using an image decomposition technique. Our idea is to make use of a cartoon-plus-texture image decomposition procedure into the deconvolution ...problem. Because cartoon and texture components can be represented differently in images, we can adapt suitable regularization methods to restore their components. In particular, the total variational regularization is used to describe the cartoon component, and Meyer’s G-norm is employed to model the texture component. In order to obtain the restored image automatically, we also use the generalized cross validation method efficiently and effectively to estimate their corresponding regularization parameters. Experimental results are reported to demonstrate that the visual quality of restored images by using the proposed method is very good, and is competitive with the other testing methods.
L’œuvre satirique conçue de 1931 à 1939 par le dessinateur Robert Fuzier pour le quotidien du Parti socialiste (SFIO), Le Populaire , est très révélatrice de l’attitude critique des socialistes ...français envers le Sénat de cette époque. Elle montre que les militants de la SFIO, bien plus préoccupés par la question de la Haute-Assemblée qu’on ne le considère généralement, saisissent toutes les occasions de manifester leur opposition à une institution dont ils n’admettent ni le conservatisme, ni le mode d’élection, ni les pouvoirs exorbitants, en particulier lorsque les gauches sont au pouvoir. Toutefois, sa portée critique diffère selon que l’on considère la période du « néo-Cartel des gauches », de 1932 et 1933, ou celle du Front populaire, de 1936 à 1938. En 1932 et 1933, dans un contexte où les socialistes n’apportent aux gouvernements formés par les radicaux qu’un « soutien sans participation » fort limité, Fuzier persifle l’obstruction des sénateurs avec vigueur, mais sans méchanceté excessive, en évitant d’humilier ces derniers. Mais la victoire du Front populaire aux élections de 1936 modifie sensiblement la donne. Les socialistes sont désormais directement confrontés au Sénat, qui bloque ou dénature leurs projets de réforme, et provoque la chute des premier et deuxième gouvernements Blum. Dès lors, le dessinateur se livre à une attaque en règle, sans ménagement. Il présente la Haute-Assemblée comme l’adversaire du suffrage universel, dénonce l’incapacité de ses pensionnaires à remplir leur mission, et ne reconnaît plus à ses chefs de file la moindre respectabilité. Son œuvre n’en témoigne pas moins du réalisme de la SFIO. Elle ne plaide pas pour la suppression, mais pour la réforme de l’institution. Une solution que les socialistes contribueront à faire prévaloir lors des débats constitutionnels de 1946.
To improve the decomposition quality, it is very important to describe the local structure of the image in the proposed model. This fact motivates us to improve the Meyer’s decomposition model via ...coupling one weighted matrix with one rotation matrix into the total variation norm. In the proposed model, the weighted matrix can be used to enhance the diffusion along with the tangent direction of the edge and the rotation matrix is used to make the difference operator couple with the coordinate system of the normal direction and the tangent direction efficiently. With these operations, our proposed model owns the advantage of the local adaption and also describes the image structure robustly. Since the proposed model has the splitting structure, we can employ the alternating direction method of multipliers to solve it. Furthermore, the convergence of the numerical method can be efficiently kept under the framework of this algorithm. Numerical results are presented to show that the proposed model can decompose better cartoon and texture components than other testing methods.
Through semiotic analysis of manifest and latent meanings in editorial cartoons, the author uncovers how cloning and stem cell research are represented in a popular mass medium. She identified 86 ...editorial cartoons published in the United States between 2001 and 2004 that referred to cloning and 20 that referred to stem cell research. Cartoonists portrayed people individually 224 times and 4 times in groups of more than 10. Men were portrayed in64% of cartoons. Stem cell research was depicted as having a potential positive value, and cloning was depicted negatively. Some major messages are that cloning will lead to the mass production of evil, cloning creates monsters, and politics will influence who or what will be cloned. Analyzing popular images can allow access to public understanding about genetic technology and evaluation of public beliefs, preconceptions, and expectations as the public is educated on the use and value of services.
This study examines the representations of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in political cartoon imagery during the 2008 presidential primaries, with specific attention toward portrayals of race and ...gender themes. An analysis of primary campaign— and election-related cartoons from 57 American cartoonists found Hillary Clinton was featured in more political cartoons than was Barack Obama, but they were often featured together in some competitive representation. Cartoon imagery of Obama identified weaknesses of his campaign but oftentimes portrayed the issue of race in favorable images. Cartoon imagery of Clinton focused on gender-related themes of her emotions and appearance but also went beyond gender themes to highlight her determination to remain in the race. When both candidates were featured, or portrayed along with Republican nominee John McCain, contrasts of race and gender were prominent in political cartoon imagery.
Respected scholar, expert, public opinion maker, oracle, under-cover politician, charlatan, cartoon character – all roles “out there” waiting for scholars sharing knowledge with a wider public. ...Scholars of religion trying to carve out more room in the public arena for a nonreligious, scientific approach to religion always risk digging their graves as (respected) scholars. What’s worse, they also risk digging the grave for a valuable and respectable, as well as publicly valued and respected academic, scientific study of religion. The scholar popularizing scientifically based knowledge, not least via the mass media (daily newspapers or public television), may “become” political and controversial to such a degree that s/he becomes a problem for the scientific study of religion, the community of scholars of religion, and the university with which s/he is affiliated. The otherwise valuable engagement threatens the reputation of science as being something valuable, “pure” and “neutral,” elevated above the dirty business of politics and power. In spite of the risks, the engaged scholar, it is, however, also argued, actually can help to strengthen the position, inside and outside the academy, of scientifically based knowledge and of the critical, analytical, scientific study of religion.
The article offers a systematic analysis of “quarantines”—small comic works dedicated to the pandemic and lockdown, which are transmitted in the Internet in digital form. The analysis is conducted on ...3082 social cartoons collected by the Center for Social and Political History of the State Public Historical Library (CSPH of the SPHL) during the lockdown in March-June 2020. The quarantines are typologized into three categories: images (collages, original and doctored photos), aphorisms, and creolized texts (caricatures, comic strips, posters, and memes). A quantitative analysis of the collection allows to conclude that the vast majority of quarantines are creolized texts—a visual unity of image and caption. By analyzing the frequencies of the main themes represented by the quarantines (with the help of hashtags), a rating of thematic groups is compiled, where the topics “Lockdown” and “Masks” take the leading place. In all thematic groups, there are motifs both critical and loyal to the social norms of the pandemic, as well as plots and images of varying degrees of metaphoricity. Based on the analysis of quarantines collected by the Center for Social and Political History, as well as a critical review of modern studies devoted to digital folklore of the pandemic period in Russia and abroad, the main socio-cultural functions of a quarantine are singled out: overcoming social stress, adaptation to the new conditions of physical and social existence; interiorization of social norms of the pandemic. The conclusion is that quarantines have become a special, artistic method of selfhelp for society in a situation of social extreme. В статье предпринимается попытка системного анализа феномена «карантинки» — комических произведений малых форм, посвященных ситуации пандемии и локдауна, и передающихся в социальных Интернет-сетях в цифровом виде. Анализ проводится на материале коллекции социальной карикатуры Центра социально-политической истории Государственной публичной исторической библиотеки, которая была собрана во время локдауна в марте–июне 2020 года и насчитывает 3082 единицы хранения. Предложена типология «карантинок», включающая три типа документов: изображения (коллаж, «фотожаба», фотография), афоризмы, креолизованные тексты (карикатура, комикс, плакат, мем). В результате количественного анализа корпуса «карантинок» коллекции делается вывод о том, что подавляющее большинство единиц изучаемого корпуса представляет собой креолизованный текст (с его визуальным единством изображения и подписи). Исходя из хештегов коллекции, в статье проведен частотный анализ основных тем «карантинок» и составлен рейтинг тематических групп, где лидирующее место заняли тематические группы «Маски» и «Локдаун». Во всех тематических группах «карантинок» обнаруживаются как критические, так лояльные по отношению к социальным нормам пандемии мотивы, а также сюжеты и образы разной степени метафоричности. На основе анализа корпуса коллекции «карантинок» ЦСПИ ГПИБ и также критического обзора литературы по современным исследованиям цифрового фольклора пандемии в России и за рубежом автором выделяются основные социально-культурные функции «карантинки»: преодоление социального стресса, адаптация к новым условиям физического и социального существования; интериоризация социальных норм пандемии. Делается вывод о том, что «карантинка» стала особым, художественным методом самопомощи общества в ситуации социального экстремума.
Salient edge and region aware image retargeting Wang, Weiwei; Zhai, Dong; Li, Tao ...
Signal processing. Image communication,
November 2014, 2014-11-00, 20141101, Volume:
29, Issue:
10
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The purpose of image retargeting is to automatically adapt a given image to fit the size of various displays without introducing severe visual distortions. The seam carving method can effectively ...achieve this task and it needs to define image importance to detect the salient context of images. In this paper we present a new image importance map and a new seam criterion for image retargeting. We first decompose an image into a cartoon and a texture part. The higher order statistics (HOS) on the cartoon part provide reliable salient edges. We construct a salient object window and a distance dependent weight to modify the HOS. The weighted HOS effectively protects salient objects from distortion by seam carving. We also propose a new seam criterion which tends to spread seam uniformly in nonsallient regions and helps to preserve large scale geometric structures. We call our method salient edge and region aware image retargeting (SERAR). We evaluate our method visually, and compare the results with related methods. Our method performs well in retargeting images with cluttered backgrounds and in preserving large scale structures.
•We use cartoon-texture decomposition for saliency detection.•We define a new image importance map to detect salient edges and salient regions.•We propose a new seam criterion to reduce distortion in large scale structure.•Our method performs good in preserving salient objects and their contexts.
PDF
