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Perceptual Grouping with Latent Noise
Get PDFHumans effortlessly group elements into objects and segment them from the background and other objects without supervision. For example, the black and white stripes of a zebra are grouped together despite vastly different colors. A thorough theoretical and empirical account of perceptual grouping is still missing – Deep Neural Networks (DNNs), which are considered leading models of the visual system still regularly fail at simplistic perceptual grouping tasks. Here, we propose a counterintuitive unsupervised computational approach to perceptual grouping and segmentation: that they arise because of neural noise, rather than in spite of it. We show that adding noise in a DNN enables the network to separate objects and to segment images even though it was never trained on any segmentation labels. To test whether the models exhibit perceptual grouping, we introduce the Good Gestalt (GG) datasets – six datasets based on a century of Gestalt principles specifically designed to test perceptual grouping. These include illusory contours, closure, continuity, proximity, and occlusion. Our DNN using neural noise finds the correct perceptual groups while other control models fail at these critical tests. We further show that our model performs well with low levels of noise, and requires only few successive time steps to compute. Using simplifying but realistic assumptions from optics, we are also able to mathematically link our model’s perceptual grouping performance to image statistics. Together, our results suggest a novel unsupervised segmentation method requiring few assumptions, a new explanation for the formation of perceptual grouping, and a novel benefit of neural noise
Business archives as a tool for academic business researchers
Get PDFThis paper examines the structure and collections in business archives in order to create a list of suggestions to better prepare researchers seeking historical business data prior to 1970. Four business archivists were chosen for interviews from a variety of industries. The article shares seven tips gained from the interviews, including getting to know what is housed or not housed in the business archive, looking for archives with museum arms, and considering the importance of legal permission as part of the process for utilizing business archives. The authors also explore how business librarians can better support the work of business archivists into the future
The Importance of Inventory
Get PDFThis lightning talk covers the basics of performing an inventory, and includes some of the highlights from the most current inventory being performed at the Northbrook Public Library
Precarious Refugee: Self-Optimization and Neoliberal Rationality in Rawi Hage’s \u3cem\u3eCockroach\u3c/em\u3e
Get PDFIn his article Precarious Refugee: Self-Optimization and Neoliberal Rationality in Rawi Hage’s Cockroach, Shahab Nadimi examines Rawi Hage’s Cockroach as an example of refugee literature in the light of current debates about neoliberal biopolitics and the idea of a new form of life. Refugees, who are neither identified as citizens nor totally as strangers, are forced to compete in unequal circumstances of economic mobility with other citizens, often leaving them in a condition of personal debts, unemployment, and mental distress. Nadimi investigates Cockroach’s depiction of psychological breakdown, suicidal attempts, and metamorphosis as symptomatic of and critical to the neoliberal promissory claim of individual success as well as possible resistance to the biopolitical practices of the neoliberal structures. Finally, Nadimi argues that Cockroach’s narrative of discontent occupies an interstitial space as a transitory mode of resistance to the neoliberal objectification of individuals as bundles of financial obligation and costs
An Interview with Susan Loesl: Pioneering Adaptive Art for Students with Disabilities
Get PDFAbstract
While art education, which often focuses on skill development, and art therapy, which typically centers more on personal expression and client goals, are two different areas of art, they have many benefits when used together. Susan Loesl is an art therapist and art educator with over 40 years of experience. In this article she shares her expertise in art therapy, art education, and adapting art tools for students with disabilities. Her work highlights the importance of creativity, collaboration, and the need for more art therapists in schools. She also shares advice for those considering careers in art therapy and art education, advocating for personal exploration and continuous artmaking to foster professional and personal growth
