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Background: Japanese EFL learners often fail to identify and categorise the different degrees of certainty associated with CERTAIN, PROBABLE, and POSSIBLE items. This computer‐mediated study evaluated the relative effects of animated versus static illustrations on stimulating the spatial concept of distance for the acquisition of this knowledge. Objectives: This study aimed to: (1) discover whether the spatial concept of distance captured by three‐dimensional (3D) images in animated or static illustrations help learners understand spatial relationships more clearly, and (2) whether a static illustration is sufficient for learning the different degrees of certainty. Method: Animated and static visualisation groups used 3D images of animated versus static illustrations that capture the spatial concept of distance, and a contrasting group did not use illustrations. The former applied the spatial concept of distance to learn the degrees of certainty, using animated or static illustrations. A spatial concept‐oriented approach that visualises concepts of distance enabled participants to understand the degrees of certainty. The contrasting approach involved rote learning of a list of target expressions for the different degrees of certainty in English. Results and Conclusions: Both the animated and static versions of the spatial concept‐oriented approaches were equally effective. The difference between the two versions did not significantly impact the overall performance of the groups. Takeaways: Regardless of the type of effect, the spatial concept of distance captured in words and illustrations helped the participants (1) process the different degrees of certainty cognitively in terms of distances and (2) retain them in long‐term memory. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Understanding our experiences in terms of metaphors based on spatially visualised concepts of the physical world leads to mapping the embodied concepts onto non‐embodied concepts and retaining these in long‐lasting memory.3D descriptions direct people's attention to the spatially visualised concepts, which influences people to internalise them with ease.The lack of consensus (in previous studies) on the effect of animated versus static versions of the metaphor awareness‐raising approach with either 2D or 3D images has some relevance to the cognitive theory of multimedia learning. What this paper adds: Computer‐generated 3D images were used to help participants in the metaphor‐based groups understand spatial relationships related to the degrees of certainty among certain, probable, and possible items.This study evaluated the relative effects of animated versus static illustrations on stimulating the spatial concept of distance for the acquisition of this knowledge.The animated and static version of the metaphor‐based approach groups outperformed those in the non‐metaphor‐based and control groups. Implications for practice and/or policy: It is necessary to consider all possible confounding variables and control for their effects when designing future animation versus static studies.Further analysis of the spatial concept‐oriented metaphor‐based approach from the perspectives of the cognitive theory of multimedia learning combined with cognitive linguistic theory would be beneficial for fellow researchers and teachers to gain insight into the nuances of the approach and expand its application in the EFL context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the Volume Graphics 2003 workshop held in the Centennial Hall, Tokyo Institute of Technology in Tokyo, Japan on July 7-8, 2003. Sponsors of the event; Information on the paper submissions which appeared in the workshop proceedings; Topic discussed by Chandrajit Bajaj from the University of Texas at Austin, Texas; Participants attracted by the event.

The authors reflect on the Computer Graphics International (CGI), a conference for researchers and professional practitioners to celebrate and share their novel achievements in computer graphics. They mention that CGI is the official conference of the Computer Graphics Society (CGS), wherein both started in Tokyo, Japan by professor T. L. Kunii from the University of Tokyo in 1983. They also talk about the selection and compilation of papers from the CGI2012 for the journal.

With the recent widespread application of computer graphics, a management system for graphic data is required which is suited to interactive processing. This paper discusses the management structure for the line data, which can realize a retrieval in an efficient way according to the spatial relations. The dynamic data management structure called the BD time, which was developed by the authors for the multidimensional point data management, is employed. In the proposed system, the BD tree is modified into a form (nonpacket type) suited to high-speed processing, and is extended to suit the line data. In this system, the segment is managed by its centroid and the circumscribed quadrilateral. The BD tree is composed of a set of centroids, where each node has information concerning the circumscribed quadrilaterals for all segments in the subtree. The retrieval is made efficient by the information concerning the circumscribed quadrilateral. In this paper, the data structure for the line data management is discussed first. Then various retrieval algorithms which depend on the spatial relations according to each application are discussed in detail. Finally, the usefulness of the proposed data structure is demonstrated by a retrieval experiment of actual geographical data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Page segmentation is a process used to extract such components as columns, figures, tables, and photos from an image of a document. This article proposes a page segmentation technique that is stable, irrespective of component shape or tilted document image, based on analyzing the white region (background) of the document image. When we process a document that has non-rectangular and tilted components, the boundary of the components, that is, the white region, takes any shape. Thus, important questions include how to express white regions and how to process them. The proposed method uses thin lines that are extracted by thinning as an expression of white regions. Based on this expression of white regions, page segmentation is defined as extracting loops that surround the components. The proposed method extracts loops by eliminating unnecessary thin lines, for example, those that represent line spacing and character spacing. We try to use not only the feature of white regions, but also those of black regions, and to process several kinds of document layout. This paper examines the effectiveness and limitations of the proposed method based on experimental results that are taken from 80 sample images that are tilted from 0 to 45 degrees. © 1998 Scripta Technica. Syst Comp Jpn, 29(3): 59–68, 1998 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes improvements to 22.2 multichannel (22.2 ch) sound broadcasting service. 22.2 ch sound is currently used in the 8K satellite broadcasting in Japan. In this study, the audio system is migrated from channel-based audio to object-based audio. The object-based audio equips 22.2 ch sound with alternative and adaptive functionalities: the alternative functionality is related to dialogue controls such as multilingual services, while the adaptive functionality enables 22.2 ch sound to be adapted to the audio format of the playback equipment. Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG)-H 3D Audio (3DA), which is the latest audio coding standard, is used as the audio coding scheme. A real-time encoder and decoder based on 3DA was developed to verify the practicability of the proposed system. The encoded audio data is packetized and transmitted by MPEG-H MPEG Media Transport (MMT) to be multiplexed with video data. A transmission experiment with 8K video was carried out in which the proposed system was proved to operate as designed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on the popularity of Japanese animation worldwide. Millions of children watch Japanese cartoons on television. Critics praise anime for its unrivalled storytelling, ingenious plots, and thought-provoking themes. The genre deals with romance, mystery, science fiction, and nonfiction. In addition, the stories of anime are played out in fantastic settings and depicted in a visually compelling style. Anime has become an international generic term for Japanese animation. As a matter of fact, Japan has become a global trendsetter for animation.

This article reports on the growth of Manga as Japanese graphic software around the world. The software is known to be a popular illustrated novel and the source of anime in Japan. E-Frontier is the first software company to offer a Manga creation tool outside of Japan. In fact, the company has offered two versions of Manga, Manga Studio Debut for the aspiring artist and hobbyist and Manga Studio EX for professional illustrators. The software features automatic line smoothing to correct and adjust hand-drawn lines.