Image segmentation—the process of defining objects in images—remains the most challenging problem in image processing despite decades of research. Many general methodologies have been proposed to date to tackle this problem. An emerging framework that has shown considerable promise recently is that of fuzzy connectedness. Images are by nature fuzzy. Object regions manifest themselves in images ...

We present a deflationary account of smartphone addiction by situating this purportedly antisocial phenomenon within the fundamentally social dispositions of our species. While we agree with contemporary critics that the hyper-connectedness and unpredictable rewards of mobile technology can modulate negative affect, we propose to place the locus of addiction on an evolutionarily older mechanism...

We apply Preuss' concept of $mbbe$-connectedness to the categories of lattice-valued uniform convergence spaces and of lattice-valued uniform spaces. A space is uniformly $mbbe$-connected if the only uniformly continuous mappings from the space to a space in the class $mbbe$ are the constant mappings. We develop the basic theory for $mbbe$-connected sets, including the product theorem. Furtherm...

A system of interacting elements can be represented by a directed network so that elements are nodes and interaction between two elements is an arc. Conventionally, each node is just a point, each arc represents some kind of interaction between two nodes and nothing more after the system is mapped to a directed network. However, in many real systems, each element has its own intra-node process ...

This study presents an exploratory, cross-sectional investigation of factors associated with internalizing emotional and behavioral problems (anxiety/depression, emotional withdrawal, and somatic complaints) in a sample of adolescents displaced by the war in Chechnya and interviewed in the fall of 2000. Social support and connectedness with family, peers, and the larger community were given par...

In many taxa, individual social traits appear to be consistent across time and context, thus meeting the criteria for animal personality. How these differences are maintained in response to changes in population density is unknown, particularly in large mammals, such as ungulates. Using a behavioral reaction norm (BRN) framework, we examined how among- and within-individual variation in social ...

This study presents an exploratory, cross-sectional investigation of factors associated with internalizing emotional and behavioral problems (anxiety/depression, emotional withdrawal, and somatic complaints) in a sample of adolescents displaced by the war in Chechnya and interviewed in the fall of 2000. Social support and connectedness with family, peers, and the larger community were given par...

School connectedness (i.e., the extent to which students feel accepted, valued, respected and included in the school) has recently surfaced as one of the most important predictors of adolescent mental health (particularly depressive symptoms). Thus it is now vital to understand predictors of school connectedness. The school environment is an established predictor, but we set out to examine whet...

Autism is a lifelong disorder, defined by deficits in social interactions and flexibility. To date, diagnostic markers for autism primarily include limitations in social behavior and cognition. However, such tests have often shown to be inadequate for individuals with autism who are either more cognitively able or intellectually disabled. The assessment of the social limitations of autism would...