Efficient Multi-modal Hashing with Online Query Adaption for Multimedia Retrieval

Multi-modal hashing supports efficient multimedia retrieval well. However, existing methods still suffer from two problems: (1) Fixed multi-modal fusion. They collaborate the multi-modal features with fixed weights for hash learning, which cannot adaptively capture the variations of online streaming multimedia contents. (2) Binary optimization challenge. To generate binary hash codes, existing methods adopt either two-step relaxed optimization that causes significant quantization errors or direct discrete optimization that consumes considerable computation and storage cost. To address these problems, we first propose a Supervised Multi-modal Hashing with Online Query-adaption method. A self-weighted fusion strategy is designed to adaptively preserve the multi-modal features into hash codes by exploiting their complementarity. Besides, the hash codes are efficiently learned with the supervision of pair-wise semantic labels to enhance their discriminative capability while avoiding the challenging symmetric similarity matrix factorization. Further, we propose an efficient Unsupervised Multi-modal Hashing with Online Query-adaption method with an adaptive multi-modal quantization strategy. The hash codes are directly learned without the reliance on the specific objective formulations. Finally, in both methods, we design a parameter-free online hashing module to adaptively capture query variations at the online retrieval stage. Experiments validate the superiority of our proposed methods.

A Review on Big Data Stream Processing Applications: Contributions, Benefits, and Limitations

The amount of data in our world has been rapidly keep growing from time to time. In the era of big data, the efficient processing and analysis of big data using machine learning algorithm is highly required, especially when the data comes in form of streams. There is no doubt that big data has become an important source of information and knowledge in making decision process. Nevertheless, dealing with this kind of data comes with great difficulties; thus, several techniques have been used in analyzing the data in the form of streams. Many techniques have been proposed and studied to handle big data and give decisions based on off-line batch analysis. Today, we need to make a constructive decision based on online streaming data analysis. Many researchers in recent years proposed some different kind of frameworks for processing the big data streaming. In this work, we explore and present in detail some of the recent achievements in big data streaming in term of contributions, benefits, and limitations. As well as some of recent platforms suitable to be used for big data streaming analytics. Moreover, we also highlight several issues that will be faced in big data stream processing. In conclusion, it is hoped that this study will assist the researchers in choosing the best and suitable framework for big data streaming projects.

XIII RISA Convention: Intercultural Communication Section

On October 15–16 the 13th Russian International Studies Association Convention took place in MGIMO, Moscow. The Department of Philosophy named after A. F. Shishkin and the editorial board of the journal Concept: Philosophy, Religion, Culture hosted the Intercultural Communication section with the great support of the organizers of the Convention. Researchers that took part in the Section represented many countries such as Abkhazia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Spain, Iran, Moldova, Serbia and the USA, and many Russian cities — Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Chita, Rostov-on-Don, Vladimir, Nizhny Novgorod, and Irkutsk. Online streaming gathered a wide audience from all over the world from Russia to Uruguay and Japan. Specialists from various academic backgrounds in social and cultural studies discussed intercultural communication in several sessions. Philosophers, linguists, political and cultural reseactors, specialists in arts, media, and regional studies were engaged in active debates on the presented reports and talks. The exchange of viewpoints and perspectives is beneficial for both experts in their field and interdisciplinary research: it introduces inspiring ideas, impressive results, and new visions. Moreover, the dialogue itself was an example of intercultural communication with the academic community involved in a fruitful and engaging conversation on the most exciting topics in the field.

Trudeau begins his third term with continuity

Significance The Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is beginning its third term with an emphasis on post-pandemic issues. While there was little new in the speech, which mostly signalled a continuation of existing policies, more action is likely on environmental and Indigenous reconciliation issues. Impacts New legislation will underpin the equality of the French language with English in federally regulated workplaces. Reform of the Broadcasting Act to cover online streaming services will require them to generate more Canadian content. Substantial increases in the foreign aid budget are likely, as are new diplomatic efforts in the Indo-Pacific region. Promises of renewed investment in defence are likely to be downgraded given the emphasis on social spending.

RETHINKING THE ‘TRUTH’ OF IDENTITY: DISSECTING QUEERNESS AND EMO SUBCULTURE IN NETFLIX’S THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY

Over the years, the presence of LGBTQ+ community in the media has gone through noticeable change. It is a challenge for online streaming services like Netflix to represent as many communities and subcultures as they can, because accessibility comes with more diverse audience. While many LGBTQ+ characters have been put in the spotlight, those who identify beyond binaries are still arguably underrepresented, especially the ones that belong to socially degraded subculture like emo. The Umbrella Academy is a TV show rooted in emo subculture that feature LGBTQ+ superhero characters, Klaus Hargreeves and Vanya Hargreeves, who do not fully associate with the label “gay”, “lesbian”, or “bisexual”. This study employs what Judith Butler asserts, that gender expressions and practices of desire go beyond binaries, to see how emo subculture engages queerness as rejection to rigid classification of gender identities and sexual practices, as well as a tool to oppose conservatism, especially of previous generations. The discussion reveals that contrary to the popular belief that perceives emo as the culture of straight middle-class white boys, the show perceives emo subculture through the characters’ rejection to absolute identification. The characters show rejection through clothing, behavior, mannerism, and verbal statements. The characters also show opposition to conservatism, which include traditional gender roles, traditional superhero narratives, masculine-feminine polarity, and the ‘truth’ of identity.