Iterative Viterbi decoding is an algorithm that spots the subsequence S of an observation O = {o1, ..., on} having the highest average probability (i.e., probability scaled by the length of S) of being generated by a given hidden Markov model M with m states. The algorithm uses a modified Viterbi algorithm as an internal step. The scaled probability measure was first proposed by John S. Bridle. An early algorithm to solve this problem, sliding window, was proposed by Jay G. Wilpon et al., 1989, with constant cost T = mn2/2. A faster algorithm consists of an iteration of calls to the Viterbi algorithm, reestimating a filler score until convergence. == The algorithm == A basic (non-optimized) version, finding the sequence s with the smallest normalized distance from some subsequence of t is: // input is placed in observation s[1..n], template t[1..m], // and [[distance matrix]] d[1..n,1..m] // remaining elements in matrices are solely for internal computations (int, int, int) AverageSubmatchDistance(char s[0..(n+1)], char t[0..(m+1)], int d[1..n,0..(m+1)]) { // score, subsequence start, subsequence end declare int e, B, E t'[0] := t'[m+1] := s'[0] := s'[n+1] := 'e' e := random() do e' := e for i := 1 to n do d'[i,0] := d'[i,m+1] := e (e, B, E) := ViterbiDistance(s', t', d') e := e/(E-B+1) until (e == e') return (e, B, E) } The ViterbiDistance() procedure returns the tuple (e, B, E), i.e., the Viterbi score "e" for the match of t and the selected entry (B) and exit (E) points from it. "B" and "E" have to be recorded using a simple modification to Viterbi. A modification that can be applied to CYK tables, proposed by Antoine Rozenknop, consists in subtracting e from all elements of the initial matrix d.
Layers (digital image editing)
Layers are used in digital image editing to separate different elements of an image. A layer can be compared to a transparency on which imaging effects or images are applied and placed over or under an image. Today they are an integral feature of image editors. In the early days of computing, memory was at a premium and the idea of using multi-layered images was considered infeasible in personal computer applications as the tradeoffs were image size and color depth. As the price of memory fell it became feasible to apply the concept of layering to raster images. The first software known to apply the concept of layers was LALF, which was released in 1989 for the NEC PC-9801. LALF's terminology for layers is "cells", after the concept of drawing animation frames over-top of a stencil. Layers were introduced in Western markets by Fauve Matisse (later Macromedia xRes), and then available in Adobe Photoshop 3.0, in 1994, which lead to widespread adoption. In vector image editors that support animation, layers are used to further enable manipulation along a common timeline for the animation; in SVG images, the equivalent to layers are "groups". == Layer types == There are different kinds of layers, and not all of them exist in all programs. They represent a part of a picture, either as pixels or as modification instructions. They are stacked on top of each other, and depending on the order, determine the appearance of the final picture. In graphics software, layers are the different levels at which one can place an object or image file. In the program, layers can be stacked, merged, or defined when creating a digital image. Layers can be partially obscured allowing portions of images within a layer to be hidden or shown in a translucent manner within another image. Layers can also be used to combine two or more images into a single digital image. For the purpose of editing, working with layers allows for applying changes to just one specific layer. == Layer (basic) == The standard layer available to most programs consists of a rectangular, semitransparent picture which may be superimposed over other layers. Some programs require that layers cover the same area as the final canvas, but others offer layers of multiple sizes. Each layer may bear individual settings, such as opacity, blending modes, dynamic filters, and potentially hundreds of other properties. == Layer mask == A layer mask is linked to a layer and hides part of the layer from the picture. What is painted black on the layer mask will not be visible in the final picture. What is grey will be more or less transparent depending on the shade of grey. As the layer mask can be both edited and moved around independently of both the background layer and the layer it applies to, it gives the user the ability to test a lot of different combinations of overlay. == Adjustment layer == An adjustment layer typically applies a common effect like brightness or saturation to other layers. However, as the effect is stored in a separate layer, it is easy to try it out and switch between different alternatives, without changing the original layer. In addition, an adjustment layer can easily be edited, just like a layer mask, so an effect can be applied to just part of the image.
Raseef22
Raseef22 (Arabic: رصيف22) is a liberal Arabic media network founded in 2013 based in Beirut, Lebanon. It publishes content in Arabic and English from different Arab states and describes itself as an independent media platform. International Media Support mentions Raseef22 along with HuffPost Arabic and Al Jazeera as one of the biggest Pan-Arab online platforms. == Name == The Arabic word raseef (رَصِيف) means platform or pavement, and the number 22 refers to the number of states in the Arab League. == History == Kareem Sakka co-founded Raseef22 in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, which he cites as a source of inspiration. In an article in The Washington Post, he wrote that Raseef22 was created as a "digital space for those eager to know what was going on around them." Raseef22 was one of the 500 websites censored in Egypt in late 2017 after it published an article on Egyptian security agencies' vies to influence the media. After the site was blocked in Egypt, it was targeted in a cyber attack that took it offline in locations around the world. Jamal Khashoggi wrote for Raseef22 regularly. One of his notable articles was "Notes on the Freedom of the Arabs from Oslo, Norway," published June 5, 2018. The site was blocked in Saudi Arabia December 2018 when the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology ordered its censorship due to its "unprecedented response to the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul." This decision might have also been related to Raseef22's coverage of Saudi-Israeli relations and interviews with activists later imprisoned or placed under house arrest coverage In 2019 the Association of LGBT Journalists (AJL) in Paris gave Raseef22 a golden foreign press award for its six-month series of articles on gender and sexuality issues. == Readership == According to its publisher in 2019, the news agency counted 12 million readers annually from 22 Arab nations. Of the readership, he wrote that it "believes in the talent and promise of the Arab mind and sees the ugliness of tyranny, patriarchy, misogyny and the futility of proxy rulers and wars." Al-Quds Al-Arabi described Raseef22 as "oriented to the youth."
Brand networking
Brand networking is the engagement of a social networking service around a brand by providing consumers with a platform of relevant content, elements of participation, and a currency, score, or ranking. Brand networking creates communities that serve as interactive destinations to encourage brand participation online and off. This evolved level of user participation with the brand facilitates strong relationships with consumers, leverages sales, and generates fan equity. The concept builds on the marketing literature on brand communities, which describes specialized, non-geographically bound groups of consumers organized around shared interest in a brand, and on subsequent research on social-media-based brand communities that examines how such groups operate when embedded in general-purpose networking platforms. == History == The development and growth of social networking in the early 2000s gave birth to brand networking. Brands saw the immediate potential to reach and interact with consumers through online platforms like Facebook and MySpace. At first, the ability to reach consumers through these platforms was inadequate; brands had the option to join as members or simply advertise on these sites. The potential existed to not only display advertisements to consumers, but to encourage them to interact with the brand. This is when brands made the shift to create their own networking platforms. Less evolved attempts to connect brands with consumers via networking are typically built as online platforms meant only to complement a product/service and are limited in functionality. Typically these sites offer consumers the opportunity to interact through discussion boards and group pages. The Guiding Light Community was built to complement the popular CBS television soap opera. The site offers members reward points for contributing content to discussion boards and blogs (which is all geared toward the show). == Structure == Brand networking is more than the utilization of a social networking platform; it is connecting consumers together and constructing relationships directly with the brand. Three key elements, in unity, create effective brand networking: relevant content, elements of participation, and a competitive currency. Websites in conjunction with other media types (television, radio, print) present content around a vertical industry, sector of interest, or cultural and social issues for a brand. This can be in areas such as health, marketing, or business, or any content relevant to the brand message. Such content is not only provided by the brand but also in the form of consumer-generated media. Research on brand-related user-generated content across major platforms suggests that the form and tone of consumer contributions vary by platform, with promotional content more common on some networks and response-oriented content on others. A brand provides participation with consumers online and offline. This is accomplished through the combination of typical social networking features online, such as personalised pages, friend lists, groups, and messaging, alongside elements of involvement offline. This is not simply connecting an online platform with mobile devices, but providing separate mobile features jointly with a secondary media type to drive online usage and build relationships with the brand on the go. By participating in mobile campaigns, users are interacting with the brand outside of traditional brick and mortar or e-commerce destinations. Empirical work on consumer brand engagement in social media frames such participation along cognitive, affective, and behavioural dimensions. The final element of brand networking involves incentivising participation with the other two elements. The addition of a currency or point system acts as an anchor to the brand and network and creates a competitive dynamic between consumers. These points are distributed for activity carried out outside of the networking site. By incentivising usage offline, the brand image is reinforced for the consumer and strengthens the relationship. Consumers are turned into promoters for both the brand and the users' benefit. The use of points, badges, leaderboards, and similar mechanics is described in the marketing literature as gamification, and has been linked to higher participation rates in mobile and loyalty programmes. == Fan equity == Fan equity is the idea that by locking in consumers to a brand, they are turned into fans of the brand. As fans, they promote, interact, and consume on a daily basis and become assets. Apple Inc. is one example of a company often cited as possessing fan equity. Customers of Apple are extremely brand loyal and are assets to the company. Creating a fan-generated brand is a difficult but effective method of business. Through the use of brand networking, a company is able to build a consumer or fan base that provides a strong relationship between business and consumers. The trust is formed and fans do a lot of work for the brand by word of mouth. Peer-to-peer channels are the strongest means of communication for a brand, but also one in which the brand can only influence and not control. Subsequent research links community engagement with brand trust, identifying community engagement as a mediator between social-media brand community participation and trust. This method of business is argued to be a relationship handled by the brand generally for its own gain. Many fans do not realise the work they are doing for companies by using their product or service. Facebook is a fan-based brand that has become a global phenomenon through customer use, with social media features such as sharing and commenting. With the growth of social media, marketing and advertising through social media has continued to expand. Brands can display and promote their products or services at a fast rate, with consumers sharing and contributing to the brand on a global scale. This can also be seen as online word of mouth exposure that can produce positive or negative feedback for brands. Once consumers become fans they are typically loyal, which can create positive word of mouth for a brand. Fans become a valuable asset, boosting the status and reputation of a brand. Different perceptions of brands can be linked to a person's origin or religion, which creates a difficulty when trying to enter a market or gain market share. Businesses need to be aware of the types of products or services they introduce to a specific market, ensuring they are culturally sensitive. Fan pages are created on social media to maintain the relationship between brands and consumers. By engaging and interacting with consumers, brands obtain fans and produce positive imaging. Some fans become attached to brands and are often encouraged to remain as fans through the use of celebrities endorsing the brand. Research on parasocial interaction in social-media environments suggests that one-sided emotional bonds that consumers form with endorsers and brand personae help convert ordinary followers into engaged fans.
Variable-message sign
A variable- (also changeable-, electronic-, or dynamic-) message sign or message board, often abbreviated VMS, VMB, CMS, or DMS, and in the UK known as a matrix sign, is an electronic traffic sign often used on roadways to give travelers information about special events. Such signs warn of traffic congestion, accidents, incidents such as terrorist attacks, Amber/Silver/Blue Alerts, roadwork zones, or speed limits on a specific highway segment. In urban areas, VMS are used within parking guidance and information systems to guide drivers to available car parking spaces. They may also ask vehicles to take alternative routes, limit travel speed, warn of duration and location of the incidents, inform of the traffic conditions, or display general public safety messages. == History == VMS systems were deployed at least as early as the 1950s on the New Jersey Turnpike. The road's signs of that period, and up to around 2012, were capable of displaying a few messages in neon, all oriented around warning drivers to slow down: "REDUCE SPEED", followed by a warning of either construction, accident, congestion, ice, snow, or fog at a certain distance ahead. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority replaced those signs (along with 1990s-vintage dot-matrix VMS systems along the Garden State Parkway) with more flexible electronic signs between 2010 and 2016. The current VMS systems are largely deployed on freeways, trunk highways, or in work zones. On the interchange of I-5 and SR 120 in San Joaquin County, California, an automated visibility and speed warning system was installed in 1996 to warn traffic of reduced visibility due to fog (where tule fog is a common problem in the winter), and of slow or stopped traffic. Message Signs were deployed in Ontario during the 1990s and are now being upgraded on 400-series highways as well as two pilot secondary highways in northeastern Ontario. == Technologies and types == Early variable message signs included static signs with words that would illuminate (often using neon tubing) indicating the type of incident that occurred, or signs that used rotating prisms (trilons) to change the message being displayed. These were later replaced by dot matrix displays typically using eggcrate, fiber optic, or flip-disc technology, which were capable of displaying a much wider range of messages than earlier static variable message signs. Since the late 1990s, the most common technology used in new installations for variable message signs are LED displays. In recent years, some newer LED variable message signs have the ability to display colored text and graphics. Dot-matrix variable message signs are divided into three subgroups: character matrix, row matrix, and full matrix. In a character matrix VMS, each character is given its own matrix with equal horizontal spacing between them, typically with two or three rows of characters. In a full matrix VMS, the entire sign is a single large dot matrix display, allowing the display of different fonts and graphics. A row matrix VMS is a hybrid of the two types, divided into two or three rows like a character matrix display, except each row is a single long dot matrix display instead of being split per character horizontally. Overhead variable message signs are today available in three form factors: front access, rear access, and walk-in. In a front access variable message sign, maintenance is performed by lifting the sign open from the front. Most smaller VMS are of the front access form factor, and are typically installed today on major arterials. The rear access form factor is similar to the front access form factor, except that maintenance is performed from the rear of the sign, and are commonly used for medium-sized dynamic message signs installed along the roadside of freeways (instead of overhead). The walk-in form factor is a more recent introduction, where maintenance on the sign is performed from the inside of the sign. A key advantage of the walk-in form factor is that lane closures are generally not required to perform maintenance on the sign. Most of the largest VMS units installed today are walk-in units, and are typically installed overhead on freeways. The NJ Turnpike Authority counts five unique types of variable message signs under its jurisdiction, at least one of which has been replaced by newer signs. They are: "REDUCE SPEED" neon signs (1950s-2010, obsolete, have now been replaced). "Changeable message signs" (trilon/ rotating-drum signs that can be used for closing roads or moving traffic to other roadways). Electronic VMS: signs with remotely controlled messages displayed on them; the messages are sent from the State Traffic Management Center, updating the signs automatically. Variable speed limit signs - used for varying the posted speed limits within work zones and in emergencies. Portable VMS: movable "electronic VMS". A portable VMS has much the same characteristics as a fixed electronic VMS, but can be moved from location to location as the need dictates. == Usage == Early models required an operator to be physically present when programming a message, whereas newer models may be reprogrammed remotely via a wired or wireless network or cellphone connection. A complete message on a panel generally includes a problem statement indicating incident, roadwork, stalled vehicle etc.; a location statement indicating where the incident is located; an effect statement indicating lane closure, delay, etc. and an action statement giving suggestion what to do traffic conditions ahead. These signs are also used for Amber alert messages, and in some states, Silver and Blue Alert messages. In some places, VMSes are set up with permanent, semi-static displays indicating predicted travel times to important traffic destinations such as major cities or interchanges along the route of a highway. Typical messages provide the following information: Promotional messages about services provided by a road authority during non-critical hours, such as carpooling efforts, travelers' information stations and 5-1-1 lines Crashes, including vehicle spin-out or rollover Road Works Incidents affecting normal traffic flow in a lane or on shoulders Non-recurring congestion, often a residual effect of cleared crash Closures of an entire road, e.g. over a mountain pass in winter. Exit ramp closures Debris on roadway Vehicle fires Wildfires Short-term maintenance or construction lasting less than three days Pavement failure alerts AMBER, Silver, and Blue Alerts, as well as weather warnings via the warning infrastructure of NOAA Weather Radio's SAME system Travel times Variable speed limits Car park occupancy levels speed sign, for recommending a speed to approach the next traffic light in its green phase. The information comes from a variety of traffic monitoring and surveillance systems. It is expected that by providing real-time information on special events on the oncoming road, VMS can improve motorists' route selection, reduce travel time, mitigate the severity and duration of incidents and improve the performance of the transportation network. === United Kingdom === Do not enter the motorway when the red lamps are flashing in pairs from side to side. On 27 March 1972, the first motorway computer-controlled warning lights in the UK, with 59 miles on the M6 from Broughton, Lancashire to Barthomley, on the Cheshire boundary, and 26 miles on the M62 east of Whitefield, was switched on by Michael Heseltine and Charles Legh Shuldham Cornwall-Legh, 5th Baron Grey of Codnor at the headquarters of Cheshire Constabulary on Nuns Road. It was centred at a police computer centre at Westhoughton, that connected to police stations in Preston and Chester. The Chester site was soon be connected to the M53 and M57. Four other regional computer centres would be opened at Perry Barr near the M6, Scratchwood near the M1, at Hook near the M3, and at Almondsbury near the M4. Most British motorways would be covered by 1975. The system was designed by GEC and had taken five years to design. == Safety messages for drivers == Increasingly, signs have been used to remind drivers to buckle seat belts ("Click It or Ticket"), obey the speed limit, and stay off the road if impaired ("Drive sober or get pulled over"). In a federal study, a slight majority of drivers reported that public safety messages on dynamic message signs impacted their driving behaviors. The Ohio Department of Transportation began using humorous dynamic message signs in 2015, perplexing some drivers. Examples of humorous signs seen in New Jersey, Arizona, Texas, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Iowa, New York, Minnesota and Ohio include: "Hold on to your butts. Help prevent forest fires." "We'll be blunt. Don't drive high." "Visiting in-laws? Slow down, get there late." "Only sparklers should be lit." and “Don’t drive Star Spangled hammered." (for Fourth of July) "Hocus pocus – drive with focus." and "Slow down in work zones - my mummy works here." (f
Hancom Office
Hancom Office is a proprietary office suite that includes a word processor, spreadsheet software, presentation software, and a PDF editor as well as their online versions accessible via a web browser. It is primarily addressed to Korean users. Hancom Office is written in Java and C++ that runs on Android, iOS, macOS and Windows platforms. == Products == Hangul - Hangul is a word processor developed by Hancom. It is a product that eliminates the inconvenience of the original Hangul word processor, which was limited to Hangul cards or PC models. Originally, the name was written using the '아래아' character, a vowel letter that is obsolete in modern Korean, and it was referred to as 'HWP' (an abbreviation for Hangul Word Processor), '아래아 한글' (Arae-a Hangul), '한/글' (Han/Geul), and so on. Hangul is currently the most widely used word processor in South Korea, often used alongside Microsoft Word. HanWord - word processor compatible with Word HanCell - spreadsheet program HanShow - presentation program Hancom Office Hanword Viewer - For viewing documents created by Hancom Office or Microsoft Office
Hardware security
Hardware security is a discipline originated from the cryptographic engineering and involves hardware design, access control, secure multi-party computation, secure key storage, ensuring code authenticity, measures to ensure that the supply chain that built the product is secure among other things. A hardware security module (HSM) is a physical computing device that safeguards and manages digital keys for strong authentication and provides cryptoprocessing. These modules traditionally come in the form of a plug-in card or an external device that attaches directly to a computer or network server. Some providers in this discipline consider that the key difference between hardware security and software security is that hardware security is implemented using "non-Turing-machine" logic (raw combinatorial logic or simple state machines). One approach, referred to as "hardsec", uses FPGAs to implement non-Turing-machine security controls as a way of combining the security of hardware with the flexibility of software. Hardware backdoors are backdoors in hardware. Conceptionally related, a hardware Trojan (HT) is a malicious modification of electronic system, particularly in the context of integrated circuit. A physical unclonable function (PUF) is a physical entity that is embodied in a physical structure and is easy to evaluate but hard to predict. Further, an individual PUF device must be easy to make but practically impossible to duplicate, even given the exact manufacturing process that produced it. In this respect it is the hardware analog of a one-way function. The name "physical unclonable function" might be a little misleading as some PUFs are clonable, and most PUFs are noisy and therefore do not achieve the requirements for a function. Today, PUFs are usually implemented in integrated circuits and are typically used in applications with high security requirements. Many attacks on sensitive data and resources reported by organizations occur from within the organization itself.