Distinct Symbols Research Articles

Exploring tourist perceptions of calligraphic landscapes: Insights from social media text analysis

Calligraphic landscapes, as distinctive cultural symbols and landscapes with Chinese characteristics, are widely used in urban design, placemaking, and tourism promotion. In cultural heritage tourism, tourists’ perceptions of the symbolic meanings of landscapes significantly influence their travel experiences. This study primarily utilizes social media text analysis to explore the perceptual characteristics and symbolic meanings of calligraphic landscapes in different touristic contexts. Using Python tools, user-generated content was extracted from the Xiaohongshu app and analyzed with ROST CM6, VOSviewer, and NVivo 20 to conduct systematic quantitative and qualitative analyses, including content analysis, semantic network analysis, and co-occurrence clustering. The findings indicate that cultural exchanges on social media significantly enhance public perception of the symbolic meanings of touristic spaces. As online check-in behavior becomes increasingly popular, calligraphic landscapes have gained new esthetic-symbolic meanings among young tourists, becoming part of fashion culture and reflecting the digitalization of a sense of place. In addition, user-generated content reveals that tourists’ perceptions of calligraphic landscapes are intricately linked to place recognition, cultural symbolism, calligraphic appreciation, heritage value, and esthetic experiences. As a significant cultural symbol, calligraphic landscapes are frequently encountered during travel, with their symbolic meanings varying according to the surrounding environment, thereby influencing tourists’ preferences in diverse settings. Furthermore, this study proposes several innovative strategies for designing calligraphic landscapes. This research not only validates the feasibility of web text analysis for exploring the symbolic meanings of cultural landscapes but also enhances theoretical perspectives on how symbolic landscapes shape tourists’ psychological and behavioral responses.

Pendaftaran Merek yang Memiliki Persamaan pada Pokoknya pada Kelas Berbeda dalam Perspektif Peraturan Perundang-Undangan

Simply said, a brand is any kind of distinctive symbol or name used in commercial contexts. There is still some gray area in Indonesia's trademark recording rules when it comes to the idea of basically identical trademarks and how to register ones that are quite similar to others in various classifications. From a legislative standpoint, this study intends to explore the notion of fundamental similarities in brands and its restrictions. It will also evaluate the recording of substantially similar trademarks in various classes in Indonesia. Using the framework of UU No 20 of 2016 concerning Marks and Geographical Indications, the study approach employed is normative legal research, which looks at the recording of trademarks in various classes that are basically comparable. Because the idea of similarity in essence is subjective and open to different interpretations by different people, the study's findings reveal that trademark recording requirements are vague on the issue. Nevertheless, while looking at statutory requirements, it is possible to register marks that are essentially similar to existing marks under UU No. 20 of 2016, provided that the marks are in a separate class.

Ancient civilizations’ territorial borders analyzed through their cosmogonies

This paper compares the ancient Mediterranean and Mesopotamian civilizations’ concept of borders and their relation with the spaces they transformed through a comparative approach of selected ancient civilizations, putting these cosmogonies into a chronological evolutionary line. The distinct motifs, symbols, and theological frameworks are examined through secondary sources. While each of these civilizations counts with individual studies, few serious attempts have been made to address these four civilizations together. The discussion aims to set the premises of the importance of borders in contemporary urban and territorial studies when religion often has a secondary role. While they were critical elements in the definition of territorial limits in the past, their inheritance is still present in our contemporary concept of borders as producers of fears.

Deras, Identity, and Caste Cleavages in the Sikh-Dominated Society of Punjab

The argument of the paper is that deras, as religio-spiritual and philanthropic organizations, play a critical role in the identity formation of their followers (by providing them distinct symbols, sacred texts, gurus, cultural traits, codes of conduct, rituals, and prayers), which score the social surface and carve out numbers of distinct religio-cultural groups in the Sikh-dominated society of Punjab. Moreover, the value gainsay, along with the orchestrated identity formation process of deras, generates conflict in the Sikh-dominated society of Punjab, which deepens the prevailing social cleavages as well as generating new conflicts in the society. Such conflicts further degrade the social position of deras’ followers (who invariably belong to Scheduled Castes and Backward Castes) and even marginalize them within their own erstwhile caste(s) and community. By taking Dera Sacha Sauda as a reference, the paper shows that the value gainsay and the identity formation processes of the dera generate social conflict between its followers and radical Sikhs in Punjab. The study reveals that such conflict not only generates new social cleavage(s) (viz., Premies vs. Sikhs) between the two ideologically distinct segments but also engenders the prevailing caste and class cleavages in society.

How Classic and Well-known Anime IPs Drive the Development of Peripheral Industries: A Case Study of Bandai Namco's Marketing of Mobile Suit Gundam

With the development of the socio-economic conditions, people's demand for spiritual needs is also increasing the cultural industry plays an increasingly important role in modern society. Anime and games, as integral components of the cultural industry, have a wide audience (especially among young people) and market demand. Simultaneously, consumer spending related to anime intellectual properties (IPs) has entered a high-growth phase. Anime IPs, as a vital part of the anime industry, possess unique appeal and influence. Anime game IPs, as distinctive cultural symbols, represent not only characters or stories but also brands with a large fan base and significant commercial potential. The purpose of this article is to explore how classic and well-known anime IPs drive the development of peripheral industries. Taking Bandai Namco's marketing of Mobile Suit Gundam as an example, by analyzing its successful marketing strategies and the development of peripheral industries, the aim is to reveal how anime IPs maximize their value through innovative peripheral products, marketing promotions, and collaborations with other industries. This study also aims to provide insights and inspiration for the operation of other anime IPs.

A binarization method for logos

In the field of digital image processing, the binarization of logo images presents a significant challenge due to the diversity in their color distribution and graphical structures. Logos, as distinctive visual symbols, are integral to brand recognition and commercial advertising. Traditional binarization methods often struggle with this diversity, leading to difficulties in preserving the original color and details of the images. To address this issue, this paper introduces a novel binarization approach specifically designed for logo images. The method comprises three stages: preprocessing, binarization, and noise removal. In the binarization stage, the Otsu method is adapted from a global to a local thresholding technique, combining both global and local thresholds for each pixel. The efficacy of this method is demonstrated through comparative experiments with logos of varying colors and structures, showing superior performance in maintaining image color and detail restoration over traditional methods. Additionally, the preprocessing and noise removal steps further enhance the method's effectiveness in handling logos with rich background colors and complex details. Overall, this approach proves to be highly adaptable across a wide range of logo types.

Honeywords Generation Technique based on Meerkat Clan Algorithm and WordNet

The efficiency of the Honeywords approach has been proven to be a significant tool for boosting password security. The suggested system utilizes the Meerkat Clan Algorithm (MCA) in conjunction with WordNet to produce honeywords, thereby enhancing the level of password security. The technique of generating honeywords involves data sources from WordNet, which contributes to the improvement of authenticity and diversity in the honeywords. The method encompasses a series of consecutive stages, which include the tokenization of passwords, the formation of alphabet tokens using the Meerkat Clan Algorithm (MCA), the handling of digit tokens, the creation of unique character tokens, and the consolidation of honeywords. The optimization of the performance of the Meerkat Clan Algorithm (MCA) involves the careful selection of parameters. The experimental findings have exhibited noteworthy levels of precision and optimum efficacy, particularly in tasks such as proposing words with similar meanings, forecasting numerical values, and producing distinctive symbols. The attainment of this achievement is facilitated by a confluence of factors, encompassing the caliber of data, the judicious use of algorithms or models, and the ongoing process of iterative improvement to consistently enhance outcomes. In order to achieve the appropriate levels of accuracy and functionality, it is crucial to engage in the process of conducting experiments, thoroughly testing the system, and making necessary improvements. The empirical findings provide confirmation of the effectiveness of the MCA in producing a varied and protected collection of honeywords. This is especially evident in the case of alphabet tokens, which are distinguished by their autonomous creation and strong security characteristics. The analysis of correction rates, specifically in relation to the password "Lion1999*," demonstrates the aforementioned results. This study reveals an average accuracy of honeyword production up to 0.729847632111541. In the same manner, the accuracy of the password "house2000" is determined to be 0.761325846711256. Additionally, when considering a sample of 100 passwords, the mean accuracy of honeyword creation is calculated to be 0.7073897168887518. The findings collectively highlight the effectiveness of the MCA in generating honeywords that possess improved security characteristics.

Unleashing the power of old maps: Extracting symbology from nineteenth century maps using convolutional neural networks to quantify modern land use on historic wetlands

Topographical maps from the nineteenth century hold significant historical and environmental value, providing insights into landscape changes over the past two centuries. These maps feature distinct symbols representing various land cover types, such as forests and wetlands, offering a unique historical perspective on land-use changes. For example, there has been a significant reduction in wetlands because of agricultural expansion and intensification which lead to biodiversity loss and increased greenhouse gas emissions globally. Our study uses U-net CNN to automatically segment wetland symbols from nineteenth century maps from hundreds of map sheets for an area of interest a large river catchment in Ireland. Extracted wetland extents were intersected with digital land cover datasets to estimate current land cover on former wetland (on both organic and mineral soils). Utilizing U-Net, we successfully automated the segmentation of wetland symbols from hundreds of nineteenth-century map sheets, focusing on a large river catchment area in Ireland. Our analysis achieved a very high F1 score of 98.2% and a Kappa of 89%. While it is challenging to verify the veracity of historical map content, the largely untapped information contained within these maps are important for understanding landscape change over time, and especially before the era of Earth observation & remote sensing. The data extracted from these sources can inform modern environmental management strategies, for example, in targeted rewetting of peatlands, or in habitat restoration.

Divine Expressions in Pala Art: Sculptures of Transcendence with special reference to Buddhist minor Deities

The art and iconography of the sculptures from the Pala period (8th to 12th centuries CE) in India represent a significant phase in the evolution of Buddhist and Hindu art. The Pala dynasty, which ruled over parts of present-day India and Bangladesh, was a patron of both Buddhist and Brahmanical traditions, and their art reflects a fusion of influences. This paper attempts to explore the key features and themes of sculptures from the Pala period with special reference to Buddhist minor deities. Pala period sculptures are known for their graceful and fluid style, characterized by soft contours and sensuous curves. This style is often referred to as the "Pala-Sena" style. The sculptures exude a sense of serenity and elegance, whether depicting Buddhist or Hindu deities. Buddhist sculptures from this era frequently depict the Buddha in various postures and mudras (hand gestures). The Buddha is often shown in the Dharmachakra Pravartana mudra (teaching pose) or the Bhumisparsha mudra (earth-touching pose). Bodhisattvas, Avalokiteshvara, Tara, and Manjushri are common subjects in Pala Buddhist art. These figures are portrayed with distinctive attributes and symbols that represent their qualities and attributes. The sculptures often include intricate detailing of jewelry, garments, and hairstyle, reflecting the rich artistic sensibilities of the period.

TOPONYMICS OF ODESA: LINGUISTIC ASPECT

This article describes and analyses a separate group of proper names — toponyms. Here, the views of well-known Ukrainian scientists-onomysts on the development of toponymy in Ukraine are presented, the classification of toponyms is considered. Special attention is paid to the toponymy of the city of Odesa. Toponymy is of deep interest for many sciences, in particular for linguistics, history, ethnography and geography. Since toponyms are an integral part of the geographical environment and culture of the people, there is a natural desire to understand geographical names, to establish how they are formed, develop and die, what they signify. Probably almost all scientists of linguistic fields will agree with the opinion that toponyms are a unique linguistic phenomenon. The emergence of proper names of this field is a complex linguistic-historical process that cannot be reduced to one or even several word-formation models. Toponyms are that special section of onomastics that requires special study, arrangement and careful protection in connection with the functions they perform not only in language, but also in history and society. Geographical names are found everywhere — on maps, in postal addresses, in newspaper articles and in everyday conversation. They allow humanity to navigate in space. Thus, toponyms have a spatial reference and can tell a lot about the territory, the history of its settlement, development and economic use. It is geographers who know the popular geographical terms that form toponyms. Finally, correct spelling of toponyms is very important when making maps. Thus, this type of onyms is an integral part of the life of any state, and more precisely, one of its distinctive symbols. Ukrainian toponyms arose in different historical eras, changed over time in form, and often in content, spread depending on certain historical events — population migration, wars, cultural and linguistic communication. In this regard, toponyms are a source of history, as it provides ethnography with a large amount of interesting information. The examination and analysis of local toponyms of Odesa allows us to find out the peculiarities of ethnogenetic processes in the territory of the city, to reveal the essence of the people’s worldview and life activities.

Revisiting translation as transculturation: from ancient Chinese origin ‘Djargron’ to global representation ‘Dragon’

ABSTRACT This study delves into Maria Tymoczko's theoretical framework concerning translation as a transcultural phenomenon, explicitly focusing on translating the culturally rich term ‘dragon’. It traces the evolution of the English term ‘Dragon’ to its roots in the ancient Chinese term ‘Djargron’ (meaning snake-dragon), showcasing how this cultural motif migrated from ancient China to the West, undergoing transformative exchanges to become a distinct symbol in Western culture. Beginning with a thorough etymological exploration, the research delves into the historical and cultural contexts surrounding the ‘dragon’ motif, examining its origins, development, and symbolic interpretations in Eastern and Western traditions. Emphasizing a source-language-oriented approach to translation, the study underscores the importance of understanding the historical and cultural nuances of ‘dragon’ while incorporating contemporary discourses to convey its cultural connotations accurately. Through case studies, the research demonstrates how innovative translation strategies can enrich cultural dialogue, deepen cultural understanding, and effectively convey the significance of ‘dragons’ in global interactions. By facilitating intercultural exchanges and promoting cultural diversity and confidence, this investigation contributes to theoretical discussions in translation studies and intercultural communication while offering valuable insights for translating culturally significant terms.

Facial Emotion Detection Using CNN-Based Neural Network

—While computer vision aims to confound humans through the analysis of digital images, humans rely on their sensory perception to decipher emotions. Unlike the challenge of comprehending virtual images, assessing emotions in speech involves evaluating various aspects such as tone, volume, speed, and more. These novel techniques allow for the modulation of emotional "anxiety" in speech. In this model, our objective is to develop a convolutional neural network (CNN) version capable of segmenting input videos into seven distinct symbols representing emotions: anger, hatred, criticism, happiness, sadness, surprise, and neutrality. To achieve this, we leverage a CNN to extract and process semantic information from facial expressions, enabling us to discern these emotions accurately. Additionally, we implement data augmentation strategies to combat issues of overfitting and underfitting. The results from this version of the model indicate improved performance when handling larger images, achieving an accuracy rate exceeding 90%. This marks the creation of a CNN-based system for recognizing emotions conveyed through speech patterns. We have carefully adjusted several parameters to enhance the model's accuracy while also investigating the key factors influencing its performance. The model concludes by delving into a comprehensive discussion on the precision and robustness of different CNN designs, highlighting areas for potential improvement, and assessing the overall efficiency of these enhancements. Keywords— CNN, Neural Network, Emotion Detection, RNN, Face Recognition

Artistic Research and Redesign of Backprint Style

The pattern is one of the most distinctive traditional art patterns and characteristic symbols in China. It represents the cultural heritage of a long history and a good beginning and a good end. It takes the pattern of the dynasties as Decorative patterns, As an aesthetic pattern, through the artistic perspective of decoration, the aesthetic characteristics of the pattern and its connotation elements in the aesthetic form of historical evolution are analyzed. On the basis of determining its characteristics, the aesthetic means of deconstruction, reorganization, change, conversion and re-decomposition are used to design new aesthetic forms such as group plans, homes, etc. This paper studies the cultural heritage of the pattern, so as to inject new life into the redesign of the pattern and adapt to the development trend of the times.

Collective Memory of Java's North Coast Road (Pantura) in Central Java in the New Order Period: A Historical Study

Jalan Raya Pantai Utara (commonly referred to as Pantura) has given rise to a multitude of phenomena that have since embedded themselves as shared memories among the communities residing along its route, as well as those who have journeyed along this roadway. These collective recollections encompass a range of elements, including the historical Jalan Raya Pos, notorious for the harsh policies enacted during Daendels' era, instances of criminal activities, traffic accidents, the presence of prostitution, vibrant graffiti art, the distinctive strains of Pantura's Dangdut music, and various others. However, this reservoir of collective memory is gradually dissipating, largely due to the Pantura highway making way for the Trans Java Toll Road. The distinctive phenomena and symbols that once adorned the landscape of Jalan Pantura have the potential to be pieced together into a comprehensive narrative within the annals of collective history. Employing historical methodologies and conducting oral history interviews served as the foundation for sourcing information in this study. Through meticulous exploration of archival records and engaging in dialogues with carefully selected informants, this research underscores that the intricate web of recollections surrounding the complexities of Pantura's history was shaped incrementally, parallel to the evolution of its economic, social, political, and cultural facets. The findings of this research underscore that the collective memory encapsulating the multifaceted essence of Pantura's past has been an evolving creation intertwined with the progression of economic, social, political, and cultural dimensions. Significantly, we continue to encounter traces of this collective memory in a myriad of artistic expressions, melodious songs, and numerous other manifestations that persist even today.

Substation Danger Sign Detection and Recognition using Convolutional Neural Networks

This paper focuses on the training of a deep neural network regarding danger sign detection and recognition in a substation. It involved applying the concepts of neural networks and computer vision to achieve results similar to traffic sign and number plate detection systems. The input data were captured in three distinct formats, i.e. grayscale, RGB, and YCbCr, which have been used as a base for comparison in this paper. The efficiency of the neural network was tested on a unique data set involving danger signs present in industrial and processing facilities. The data set was unique, consisting of four distinct symbols. The trained data were selected so that they would not facilitate overfitting and also would not be under fitted. The accuracy of the model varied with the input type and was tested with two distinct classifiers, CNN and SVM, and the results were compared. The model was designed to be fast and accurate, and it can be implemented on mobile devices.

Completing partial Latin squares with two filled rows and three filled columns

Consider a partial Latin square $P$ where the first two rows and first three columns are completely filled, and every other cell of $P$ is empty. It has been conjectured that all such partial Latin squares of order at least $8$ are completable. Based on a technique by Kuhl and McGinn we describe a framework for completing partial Latin squares in this class. Moreover, we use our method for proving that all partial Latin squares from this family, where the intersection of the nonempty rows and columns form a Latin rectangle with three distinct symbols, is completable.

Information revelation through signalling

This paper studies a Stackelberg game wherein a sender (leader) attempts to shape the information of a less informed receiver (follower) who in turn takes an action that determines the payoff for both players. The sender chooses signals to maximize its own utility function while the receiver aims to ascertain the value of a source that is privately known to the sender. It is well known that such sender–receiver games admit a vast number of equilibria and not all signals from the sender can be relied on as truthful. Our main contribution is an exact characterization of the minimum number of distinct source symbols that can be correctly recovered by a receiver in any equilibrium of this game; we call this quantity the informativeness of the sender. We show that the informativeness is given by the vertex clique cover number of a certain graph induced by the utility function, whereby it can be computed based on the utility function alone without the need to enumerate all equilibria. We find that informativeness characterizes the existence of well-known classes of separating, pooling and semi-separating equilibria. We also compare informativeness with the amount of information obtained by the receiver when it is the leader and show that the informativeness is always greater than the latter, implying that the receiver is better off being a follower. Additionally, we also show that when the players play behavioural strategies, an equilibrium may not exist.

A Pattern Mining Approach for Improving Speech Emotion Recognition

Speech-driven user interfaces are becoming more common in our lives. To interact with such systems naturally and effectively, machines need to recognize the emotional states of users and respond to them accordingly. At the heart of the emotion recognition research done to this end lies the emotion representation that enables machines to learn and predict emotions. Speech emotion recognition studies use a wide range of low-to-high-level acoustic features for representation purposes such as LLDs, their functionals, and BoAW. In this paper, we present a new method for extracting a novel set of high-level features for classifying emotions. For this purpose, we (1) reduce the dimension of discrete-time speech signals, (2) perform a quantization operation on the new signals and assign a distinct symbol to each quantization level, (3) use the symbol sequences representing the signals to extract discriminative patterns that are capable of distinguishing different emotions from each other, and (4) generate a separate set of features for each emotion from the extracted patterns. Experimental results show that pattern features outperform Energy, Voicing, MFCC, Spectral, and RASTA feature sets. We also demonstrate that combining the pattern-based features and the acoustic features further improves the classification performance.

A pumping lemma for regular closure of prefix-free languages

Let Σ be an infinite set of distinct symbols. Let PFL⊆Power(Σ⁎) be the set of all prefix-free languages. For N⊆Power(Σ⁎), let ΓREG(N) be the regular closure of N, i.e., let ΓREG(N) be the smallest set such that N⊆ΓREG(N) and L1∪L2, L1L2, L1⁎∈ΓREG(N) for any L1,L2∈ΓREG(N). In this paper, we provide a pumping lemma for ΓREG(PFL). This lemma enables us to prove that some languages do not belong to ΓREG(PFL). It is notable that we immediately obtain a pumping lemma for ΓREG(DCFL) as a corollary, due to the known fact that ΓREG(DCFL)=ΓREG(DCFL∩PFL), where we define DCFL as DCFL:=∪Σ0DCFL(Σ0) with the union taken over all non-empty finite set Σ0⊆Σ, and DCFL(Σ0) is the family of all L⊆Σ0⁎ such that L is accepted by a deterministic pushdown automaton over Σ0 by final state.

Luxury consumption amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThis study investigates shifts in luxury consumers' perceptions regarding luxury consumption, subsequent changes in the meaning of luxury and antecedents of luxury observed amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachOverall, 145, one-to-one qualitative interviews were conducted online with luxury consumers and the data acquired was analysed using NVivo.FindingsPhygital connectedness and access-based consumption are the future of luxury for luxury consumers' well-being, social connectedness, living experience and rational and thoughtful luxury consumption. Moreover, distinct luxury symbols (e.g. conciseness towards societal connotation of luxury goods and consumption, empathy, wisdom and maturity) and transformation expectations (for the self, others in society and luxury brands) govern luxury consumption behaviour.Research limitations/implicationsThe meaning of luxury amidst the pandemic is explained along a continuum, from luxury transforming consumers' inner selves to influencing other consumers' lives to transforming society.Practical implicationsLuxury professionals should include phygital experience, sustainability, social–cultural sensitivity, empathy, symbolism, mindfulness and thoughtfulness in marketing strategies.Originality/valueNew perspectives have enriched the realm of luxury.