8 research outputs found
2D Sprite Sheet Generator: uma ferramenta para geração dinâmica de animações de personagens utilizando Stable Diffusion
No full textThe process of creating 2D character animations using conventional drawing methodologies usually takes a considerable amount of time, taking into account that each frame of the character needs to be created manually in modeling and animation software. In this context, the objective of this work is to present the 2D Sprite Sheet Generator, a tool for automatically generating dynamic character animations. To this end, Stable Diffusion was used, a deep learning model that uses text input and generates images with great detail and adaptability. Depending on user input and possible details, the tool generates a spritesheet of a 2D character as well as a sample GIF of the animation, taking less than three minutes. From a pilot study with seven professionals in the gaming area, satisfactory results were demonstrated in the use of the tool, showing excellent acceptance and good success in implementing its functionality. The main advantage of the approach is the innovation and potential of the solution, given that the market lacks tools that use artificial intelligence to facilitate the generation of 2D characters. The proposed approach addresses a critical need in the industry, streamlining the animation creation process and offering a practical solution for developers and artists.O processo de criação de animações de personagens 2D utilizando metodologias convencionais de desenho costuma consumir um tempo considerável, levando em consideração que cada frame do personagem precisa ser criado manualmente em softwares de modelagem e animação. Neste contexto, o objetivo deste trabalho ´e apresentar o 2D Sprite Sheet Generator, uma ferramenta para geração dinâmica de animações de personagens, de forma automática. Para tanto, utilizou-se Stable Diffusion, um modelo de aprendizado profundo que utiliza uma entrada de texto e gera imagens com grande detalhismo e adaptabilidade. Conforme a entrada do usuário e possíveis detalhes apontados, a ferramenta gera uma spritesheet de um personagem 2D assim como um GIF de amostra da animação, levando menos de três minutos. A partir de um estudo piloto com sete profissionais da área de games, evidenciou se resultados satisfatórios no uso da ferramenta, mostrando ótima aceitação e um bom êxito na execução de sua funcionalidade. Como principal vantagem da abordagem, destaca-se a inovação e o potencial da solução, tendo em vista que o mercado carece de ferramentas que utilizem inteligência artificial para facilitar a geração de personagens 2D. A abordagem proposta atende a uma necessidade crítica na indústria, agilizando o processo de criação de animações e oferecendo uma solução prática para desenvolvedores e artistas
Mapping transference : problems of African literature and translation from French into English
No full textAlthough a number of African literary works have been
translated from French into English since the middle of this
century, research and debate on their translation has remained
scanty, fragmentary, and scattered in diverse learned journals
and other short publications. This thesis seeks to broaden the
scope of research by mapping out aspects of transference in
translation in terms of analysis and transfer strategies that
have been, or could be, used. A selection of major translated
works have been compared with their originals, to give textual
examples indicative of transfer strategies.
Current issues in African literature as well as typical
features of the literature in French and English have been
explored in order to examine differences between them and English
and French literatures. The implications of these differences (at
the levels of content, cultural setting, peculiar use of English
and French, and the target audience) for translation are
considered, and a brief historical survey of the translation of
African literature provides insights into how translators have
approached, and continue to approach, literary texts as well as
cope with their target readership. Furthermore, dominant trends
in literary translation studies (mainly in the West) are explored
to determine if, and in what ways, they relate to translation
studies in Africa.
The analysis of transfer strategies focuses on the
distinctive features of francophone African literary texts,
drawing on relevant Western literary translation theories and
models, on African literary theory and criticism, as well as on
other disciplines likely contribute to an informed understanding
of the texts. Finally, a case study applies the analysis to a
text which is translated, and transfer strategies discussed
The virtual image : Brazilian literature in English translation
No full textThe
aim of this thesis is to
examine
how the virtual
image
of Brazil
and
its literature is
constructed
in the Anglo-American world. To this
end, a survey of
Brazilian literary
works
in English translation was
carried out.
Having
gathered this data, it became
possible to establish
correlations
between the historical
moments when such translations
were made, when their number
increased,
and the events occurring at
those times in the international
panorama, as well as to look into the
role of sponsors, publishers and translators in the
selection and
production of such translations.
The data
also allowed a profile of
Brazilian literary
works
in
English translation to be drawn. It became
possible to suggest that
such works
fall into four
main categories:
`authorial
works',
'topical
works',
`ambassadorial
works'
and `consumer-oriented
works'.
In
order
to look
more closely
into how the translation process
has helped to
shape
the
virtual
image
of Brazilian literary
works
in
the Anglo-American world, an analysis of a sample of
translations
of
such works was made. Included in this
sample were
the translations
of works
by Machado de Asis, by Indianist
and
Regionalist
wirters,
culminating
in
an examination of translations of
GuimarAes Rosa's
works.
Having looked
at these aspects of
the translation
process, what
remained
to be done
was to investigate
to what extent
Brazilian
literary
works
in English translation
are read
by the English-
speaking public.
To this
end, a survey of availability and
library
readership was undertaken. Finally,
a reading experiment was carried
out
in
which native speakers of
English
were asked to read the short
story
'A terceira
margem
do
rio',
by GuimarAes Rosa.
The
conclusion attempts to pull all these threads together and
to indicate directions for further
research
The social poetics of place making : challenging the control/dichotomous perspective
No full textGrappling with the success of their business ventures and coping with the rise in number of new products FifeX was working on, operating out of their shared office in the St Andrews Technology Centre, the co-founders were feeling more ‘cramped’ than ever before. The decision was made to relocate. Although it was felt to be long overdue, much to their relief they finally moved to larger premises in Tayport in July, 2006. The activity of moving was a starting point for a number of place making activities.
Using the case of FifeX, this thesis explores the process of place making. It seeks to understand place making from ‘inside’ the activity of place making itself. The guiding research question in this thesis is, what happens -during place making- when people move into ‘new’ business premises? More specifically, this thesis asks the following questions: (i) what are the comparative advantages / disadvantages of the alternative ways of explaining place making? and (ii) which theory or combination of theories, has greater explanatory value in analysing place making / moving? The study, which uses FifeX as an empirical setting is best described as an in-depth qualitative narrative exploration, and thus narrates the unfolding processes of deciding to relocate, relocating, moving and place making.
Three different theoretical perspectives (control, engagement, polyphony) were applied, each in turn, to three separate (yet interrelated) instances of place making (a story about a wall, one about chairs, and one about a worktop) in order to cast fresh light on the constitutive talk-entwined-activities of place making. The study demonstrates that although efforts to control space may dominate the discourse and activities of place making, control only explains some of what happens during place making. The findings of the case suggest that place is the outcome of inhabitants’ ongoing experiences and understanding. This thesis argues that alternative theoretical perspectives (engagement and polyphony) are better at explaining what goes on. But because they do not operate ‘naturally’ within the dominant paradigm, it is noted that an alternative practice-based perspective is needed which combines the effectiveness of engagement and polyphony, with the attractiveness of control.
A model is presented to help reflect on place making which provides an alternative route for thinking about relocating, moving, and place making that is expected to create engagement and polyphony in a decent way. The proposed model is centred on thinking directed toward: (i) individual place, (ii) inside space, and (iii) what story(s) the space tell outsiders. The focus is on balancing the tensions that emerge from dialoging on these three aspects of space and place
History and prophecy in the Qumran Pesharim: an examination of the key figures and groups in the Dead Sea Scrolls by way of their prophetic designations.
No full textThe thesis examines the Qumran pesharim and seeks to test the claim that these texts are solely 'historically' based. Instead, it finds that the interpretations are driven by prophetic concerns, founded on and guided by the biblical concept of 'pesher' as dream-interpretation. The study concentrates on the various sobriquets in the pesharim, and is loosely divided into two main parts. Part one examines those designations of groups, including the Kittim, Ephraim and Manasseh, and the Seekers of Smooth Things. Part two, meanwhile, focuses on the interrelationship between the Teacher of Righteousness, the Wicked Priest, and the Man of Falsehood. One of the dominating themes of the thesis is the stress laid on the relationship between the Teacher and the Man of Falsehood, while the thesis also proposes that 'Ephraim' and 'Seekers of Smooth Things' are an offshoot of the Man of Falsehood's original followers. This allows the opposition to this group in 4QpNahum to be properly understood, and suggests a lurk between the Qumran group and the proto-Pharisaic movement. In concluding, the study condemns the suggestion that the 'masking' by sobriquets intentionally conceals these subjects' identity. Rather, such masking links the intended target with prophetic expectations. In short, the thesis finds that although the two are often distinguished in modem scholarship, the correct interpretation of any aspect of the 'historical' pesharim inevitably relies on the understanding of the prophetic term 'pesher' - and vice versa. The thesis does not tackle the issue of the dating of these texts. Rather, it assumes the consensus view that the pesharim were composed during the first century BCE. Occasionally, it will be evident that a text requires a composition before or after a particular date or event, or even that it must postdate another Qumran text, but in general the question has not been an overriding concern
Knowledge-intensive firms : configuration or community?
No full textThis thesis is a study into the nature of knowledge-intensive firm defined here as
professional service firms providing tailored services to corporate clients and relying heavily
on the problem solving capacity of their employees. This thesis attempts to strike a balance
between a straightforward and overtly empirical piece of work which presupposes the
meaning of knowledge work and an abstract contribution which questions, explores and
attempts to reframe our understanding of the prevailing concept of knowledge work and of
the knowledge-intensive firm. Three exceptionally successful contemporary firms are
studied as potential exemplars of this seemingly new organisational form. The cases are
examined from three overlapping and integrated perspectives. First, a structure and design
perspective is adopted. The existing literature on the structure and design of these firms is
examined and developed into an ideal type (Weber, 1978) which is subsequently used in the
interviewing of employees. A more processual/contextual/alternative perspective on
knowledge work is then adopted and combined with the related concept of community is
applied to the study of the three cases. Finally, drawing on the historical case of early Irish
monasticism, a premodern knowledge-intensive institutional form, the sense of the
interrelationship between structure and community is elaborated upon and, along with some
peculiarly monastic angles, applied to the three cases. The overall conclusion is that
contemporary KIFs represent "plural forms" (Jeffrey, 1991) in the sense that they use
different internal and external control mechanism simultaneously for the same function.
While the operations of these firms are complex and unusual, the claim of a new paradigm
of management underpinning these firms is rejected
Beyond the Pedagogical Illusion? Historical-Comparative Reflections on the Impact History of Moral Education of Children and Adolescents
No full textThis article can be broken down into two parts, perhaps somewhat unequally as far as its orientation is concerned. In the first part, the author takes the reader on a kind of exploration of the history of moral education, a subject which, at first glance and from the perspective of the years he spent studying educational historiography, appears to be rather undeveloped terrain. Since the piece is related to the awarding of the Comenius Medal, Comenius himself already provides a good starting point for this round of studies. As in the case of Herbart, another classic within the canon of educational history, Comenius held the opinion that morality plays a key role in upbringing of young people, which became increasingly scintillating in appearance from the Enlightenment onwards. For in a well-regulated society, it was by means of upbringing and education that individual freedom could be created. However, in the course of the 20th century and to the shame of humanity, people were forced to witness how the idea that people and society could be shaped by social engineering could equally give rise to a lack of freedom, as the aberrations of Nazism, fascism and ultimately Marxism-Leninism unequivocally demonstrated. So can such “reversals” of modern-day thought ultimately teach us any overall lessons about the content, manner and results with which moral curricula are imposed? Or must we first set out to identify the “abnormal” cases that society first branded as such and only subsequently extract those lessons? In other words, can extraordinary situations and events teach us something about the everyday reality of moral education as manifested in the so-called “civilising offensive” that took place from the end of the 18th century onwards? As far as the Low Countries are concerned, the author is, for that matter, setting foot on familiar ground. By utilising previous research on Belgium, Flanders and the (Belgian) Congo, the second part of the article wastes no time in examining what moral education meant in more specific terms in the 20th century. In that regard, the focus not only lies on contextualising the insights and questions raised by the first part, as a “tour d’horizon”, but equally on analysing them in greater depth. After all, the author’s years of research already provide three interesting points of reference: 1) the strong continuity of the patronising perspective; 2) the problematic nature of thinking about educational innovations and didactic innovations in binary terms, such as “old” and “new”, and 3) the lack of a straightforward link between parenting and educational goals on the one hand and their results and effects (including and especially in the long term) on the other. Which leads inevitably to the conclusion that education, important as it is, must not be overestimated. Nor should history for that matter. Perhaps both are nothing more than an opportunity to partake of a meaningful encounter that may be effective, but whose outcome one can never be sure of. Which in turn does not take away from the fact that we must still place our hopes on it. For hope is probably the most positive thing that human beings carry within them, just as Comenius himself proved in his lifetime, by the way
Eyewitness accounts of 'the Indies' in the Later Medieval West: reading, reception, and re-use (c. 1300-1500)
No full textDespite increased mercantile and missionary contact between the Latin West and India and China between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, scholars have often
noted that Western Europe's knowledge of India, as judged by geographical texts from the period, changed surprisingly little during this time. This thesis employs
some of the methodologies of reception studies in order to investigate the role played by first-hand travel accounts in the construction and change of concepts of the Indies
during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It investigates in particular the reception in Italy, France and England of the information about the area known as
India or the 'three Indies' presented in the texts produced by two Italian travellers to the East: the Divisament dou monde of the Venetian merchant Marco Polo (c. 1298),
and the Relatio of the Franciscan missionary Odorico da Pordenone (1330).
The thesis falls into three distinct parts. In the first section, I contextualise the project with a broad survey of the Latin European ideas of India in the late thirteenth
and early fourteenth centuries and with an outline of the travellers' journeys and their contexts. The second part of the thesis provides a broad overview of the
circumstances of diffusion of the two travel accounts in England, France and Italy over the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, before conducting a detailed, manuscriptbased
investigation of the ways in which the two accounts of India were approached by their early readers. This investigation focuses principally upon the presentation
and possible modes of reception of the texts' geographical and ethnographic details and relies heavily on the evidence of presentation, paratext and the traces of reading
present in the physical texts of the accounts.
The third and final part of the thesis considers the evidence of the reception of elements from first-hand travel accounts in other textual and cartographic
productions. Proceeding on the basis of case studies, it demonstrates that first-hand accounts of 'the Indies' were used by the authors and compilers of cosmo graphical
texts in this period in a variety of ways. It suggests, however, that the manner and context of the deployment of elements from such accounts often tended to assimilate
these with, rather than distinguish them from, the writings of accepted authorities. This section also contrasts the way that details from travel accounts were re-used in
texts with the way the same information was handled in the composition of maps. Finally, by analysis of the ways eyewitness accounts of the Indies were re-used in
certain ambiguous and comic texts produced in this period, the thesis sheds light on an underexplored aspect of the reception both of eyewitness information and of the
genres in which it appeared. The appendices contain tables presenting information relative to the manuscripts discussed that support the arguments presented in section
two
