Journal articles on the topic 'Localisation ambiguity'

We applied motion theory to robot audition to improve the inadequate performance. Motions are critical for overcoming the ambiguity and sparseness of information obtained by two microphones. To realise this, we first designed a sound source localisation system integrated with cross-power spectrum phase (CSP) analysis and an EM algorithm. The CSP of sound signals obtained with only two microphones was used to localise the sound source without having to measure impulse response data. The expectation-maximisation (EM) algorithm helped the system to cope with several moving sound sources and reduce localisation errors. We then proposed a way of constructing a database for moving sounds to evaluate binaural sound source localisation. We evaluated our sound localisation method using artificial moving sounds and confirmed that it could effectively localise moving sounds slower than 1.125 rad/s. Consequently, we solved the problem of distinguishing whether sounds were coming from the front or rear by rotating and/or tipping the robot's head that was equipped with only two microphones. Our system was applied to a humanoid robot called SIG2, and we confirmed its ability to localise sounds over the entire azimuth range as the success rates for sound localisation in the front and rear areas were 97.6% and 75.6% respectively.

A method for damage localisation has been developed, which is based on the phased array idea. Four arrays of transducers, instead of only one, are used to perform a beam-forming procedure. Each array consists of nine transducers placed along a line, which are able to excite and register elastic waves. The arrays are placed in such a way that the angular difference between them is 45º and the rotation point is the middle transducer, which is common for all the arrays. The idea has been tested on a square aluminium plate modelled by the Spectral Finite Element Method. Two types of damage were considered, namely distributed damage, which was modelled as stiffness reduction, and cracks, modelled as separation of nodes in selected finite elements. The plate is excited by a wave packet (5-cycle sine modulated by the Hanning window). The whole array system is placed in the middle of the plate. Each phase array in the system acts independently and produces maps of a scanned field based on the beam-forming procedure. These maps are made of signals that represent the difference between the damaged plate signals and those from the intact plate. An algorithm was developed to join all four maps. This procedure eliminates the necessity to analyse each map individually and also gives the possibility to extract common features only. It allows to remove ambiguity and helps to localise damage more precisely than in the case of a single map. The problem for damage localisation was investigated and exemplary maps confirming the effectiveness of the system proposed were obtained. The investigation is based exclusively on numerical data.

The ambiguity of the causal relationship between knowledge creation and regional growth does not indicate its insignificance, as proven by numerous empirical studies. However, such works rarely examine small towns, characterised by uncertainty of knowledge sources. The article aims to identify and compare groups of similar small towns in the Central, Ural and Southern Federal Districts by using a set of knowledge localisation factors. A two-stage clustering was performed by the k-means method according to the following criteria: interactions between actors, specific knowledge stock and financial resources for commercialisation. The resulting cluster centres were divided into quartiles according to the grading system (good, satisfactory or poor). First, the study revealed 10 clusters in the Central Federal District, 7 clusters in the Ural Federal District and 5 clusters in the Southern Federal District. In 35 % of the towns of the Southern Federal District, 35 % of the Central Federal District and 38 % of the Ural Federal District, the estimated specific knowledge stock exceeded the availability of financial resources. Second, towns were differentiated by population and divided into two groups depending on the agglomeration impact of larger cities. Clusters were formed within each group and federal district. 50 % of Ural towns with a population of 10,000 to 20,000 people unaffected by the agglomeration, as well as 62 % of towns with more than 20,000 people have the advantage of specific knowledge stock over financial resources. These values are 18 % and 8 %, respectively, for the Central Federal District, 36 % and 30 % for the Southern Federal District. The findings can help extend the analytical framework for making decisions on the small towns development. Future research may focus on establishing measures to improve the characteristics of clusters.

A visual stimulus typically activates several cortical areas, both sequentially and overlapping in time. Characterisation of this temporal activation sequence has significantly improved with the recent development of whole-scalp neuromagnetometers. The magnetoencephalographic (MEG) signals mainly arise from time-locked cortical activity. Although the spatial localisation of several simultaneously active areas is ambiguous because of the non-uniqueness of the inverse problem, the comparison of estimated source regions across observers and utilisation of previous functional knowledge can usually resolve this ambiguity. Visual object naming, for example, generates cortical activation progressing bilaterally from occipital to temporal and frontal lobes. Simultaneously, the parieto-occipital alpha rhythm dampens as a function of task demands. Similarly, this rhythm is at a lower level after objects than non-objects in an object-detection task, which suggests that the parieto-occipital area is active when attending to visual form. In addition, this area generates evoked responses after voluntary blinks, saccades, and luminance increments, which in turn suggests that it participates in the updating of visual percepts. The sources of extrastriate MEG signals are generally in good agreement with the location of activation found with other imaging methods: visual motion activates the V5 in the ascending limb of the inferior temporal sulcus, faces the ventral temporo-occipital cortex, and objects the lateral occipital (LO) regions. Interestingly, the strength of the right LO activity closely follows the proportion of correctly detected objects. The future neuromagnetic studies will focus not only on functional localisation of the active areas, but also on how the brain processes various stimuli.

There has been a renewed interest in the debates on the use of force. This resurgence in academic and policy circles can be attributed to the new wave of military interventions after the initial hiatus of the Global War on Terror period. The recent cases of the use of force are once again raising pertinent legal questions regarding the responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security which is vested in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) by the United Nations (UN) Charter. This authority, exemplified by the UNSC control of the use of force has been challenged by unilateral recourse to force by States, coalitions of States and regional organisations. The African Union (AU) has developed regional legal frameworks which may contest some established legal norms on the use of force, including the primary responsibility of the UNSC to authorise the use of force for the maintenance of international peace and security. In this article, I delineate these norm contestations and identify specific modes of such contestations in UNSC-AU relationship within the frameworks of their respective constitutive treaties. I draw on the idea of norm localisation and subsidiarity to understand the African Union’s approach to its relationship with the UNSC, the ways in which these norm contestations impact that relationship and how the contestations affect the norm on the use of force.

The paper presents an analysis of the key processes in the field of adult education in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) referring to its socialist past and current tendencies dominantly motivated by the country’s aspiration towards accession to the European Union (EU). Any effort to offer a systematic overview of the history of adult education in BiH faces ambiguity and a lack of systematic data. Unlike other parts of the education system where historical accounts are to a certain extent preserved and subject to scholarly studies and investigations, adult education in BiH seems to be a field without a documented past. Based on critical discourse analysis, the paper intends to unravel the intricate socio-political texture that has shaped the key themes in adult education both in the country’s socialist past and its democratic present. The results of the analysis indicate several quite clear patterns: (a) the ambiguous treatment of the socialist past, from romanticising to annihilating its achievements and arrangements; (b) the rise of private institutions in adult education in the post-socialist period and the diversification of the education on offer; and (c) tensions between aspirations towards global and European trends on the one hand and insistence on localisation in terms of shaping adult education policy on the other.

In terms of driverless systems, high-precision positioning technology is one among the critical aspects of driverless cars to achieve driverlessness. This study analyzed the working principles of GNSS (global navigation satellite system) and SINS (strapdown inertial navigation system) and elaborated the principles of the least square method and LAMBDA algorithm in the integer ambiguity resolution. Based on the network RTK positioning technology and the abovementioned theory, the unmanned automatic work vehicle was used as the research object, and the fusion positioning algorithm of the BDS/GPS system and inertial sensor was used to propose a high-precision positioning technology for the unmanned automatic work vehicle. The combined navigation system model was studied and constructed. Relevant verification was carried out through simulation and experiment. The results were as follows: the pitch angle error was less than 0.1°, the roll angle error was less than 0.05°, the speed error was less than 0.2 m/s, and the position error was less than 2.1 m. The outcomes indicate that an integrated navigation and positioning algorithm for driverless vehicles can significantly enhance the localisation accuracy and reliability of navigation. The research results are of engineering value and practical application for the development of unmanned automatic special vehicle positioning systems.

Time and frequency transfer through global navigation satellite system (GNSS) precise point positioning (PPP) based on carrier-phase measurements has been widely used for clock comparisons in national timing laboratories. However, the time jumps up to one nanosecond at the day boundary epochs of adjacent daily batches lead to discontinuities in the time transfer results. Therefore, it is a major obstacle to achieve continuous carrier phase time transfer. The day-boundary discontinuities have been studied for many years, and they are believed to be caused by the long-term pseudorange noise during estimation of the clock offset in the daily batches and are nearly in accordance with a Gaussian curve. Several methods of eliminating the day-boundary discontinuity were proposed during the past fifteen years, such as shift and overlapping, longer batch processing, clock handover, and ambiguity stacking. Some errors and new noise limit the use of such methods in the long-term clock stability comparison. One of the effective methods is phase ambiguity fixing resolution in zero-differenced PPP, which is based on the precise products of wide-lane satellite bias (WSB) provided by the new international GNSS Service (IGS) Analysis Center of Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS). However, it is not suitable for new GNSS, such as the Beidou Satellite System (BDS), GALILEO, and QZSS. For overcoming the drawbacks above, Multi-GNSS Experiment (MGEX) observation data of 10 whole days from MJD 58624 to 58633have been network processed by batch least square resolution. These observations come from several ground receivers located in different national timing laboratories. Code and carrier phase ionosphere-free measurements of GPS and BDS satellites are used, and the time transfer results from network processing are compared with PPP results provided by Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) and used for international atomic time (TAI) computation (TAIPPP) and universal time coordination (UTC). It is shown that the time offsets of three different time links are almost continuous and the day-boundary discontinuities are sharply eliminated by network processing, although a little extent of day-boundary discontinuities still exist in the results of UTC(USNO)-UTC(PTB). The accuracy of time transfer has been significantly improved, and the frequency stability of UTC(NTSC)-UTC(PTB) can be up to 6.8 × 10−15 on average time of more than one day. Thus, it is suitable for continuous multi-GNSS time transfer, especially for long-term clock stability comparison.

AbstractTheories of superior collicular and hippocampal function have remarkable similarities. Both structures have been repeatedly implicated in spatial and attentional behaviour and in inhibitory control of locomotion. Moreover, they share certain electrophysiological properties in their single unit responses and in the synchronous appearance and disappearance of slow wave activity. Both are phylogenetically old and the colliculus projects strongly to brainstem nuclei instrumental in the generation of theta rhythm in the hippocampal EECOn the other hand, close inspection of behavioural and electrophysiological data reveals disparities. In particular, hippocampal processing mainly concerns stimulus ambiguity, contextual significance, and spatial relations or other subtle, higher order characteristics. This requires the use of largely preprocessed sensory information and mediation of poststimulus investigation. Although collicular activity must also be integrated with that of “higher” centres (probably to a varying degree, depending on the nature of stimuli being processed and the task requirements), its primary role in attention is more “peripheral” and specific in controlling orienting/localisation via eye and body movements toward egocentrically labelled spatial positions. In addition, the colliculus may exert a nonspecific influence in alerting higher centres to the imminence of information potentially worthy of focal attention. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that collicular and hippocampal lesions produce deficits on similar tasks, although the type of deficit is usually different (often opposite) in each case. Functional overlap between hippocampus and colliculus (i.e., strategically synchronised or mutually interdependent activity) is virtually certain vis-à-vis stimulus sampling, for example in the acquisition of information via vibrissal movements and visual scanning. In addition, insofar as stimulus significance is a factor in collicular orienting mechanisms, the hippocampus — cingulate – cortex — colliculus pathway may play a significant role, modulating collicular responsiveness and thus ensuring an attentional strategy appropriate to current requirements (stimulus familiarity, stage of learning). A tentative “reciprocal loop” model is proposed which bridges physiological and behavioural levels of analysis and which would account for the observed degree and nature of functional overlap between the superior colliculus and hippocampus.

На основе критического анализа гетерогенных подходов к определению содержания понятий «адекватность перевода», «переводческая норма», «аудиовизуальный жанр» в статье постулируется ряд гипотез, касающихся вопросов оценивания качества перевода в аудиовизуальных массмедиа. Адекватность рассматривается не только как факт соблюдения в процессе и результате перевода прескриптивных эквивалентностных, стилистических и прагматических норм, но и как интегральная характеристика текста и формы предъявления перевода реципиентам, ключевым параметром которой выступает соответствие переводного контента предполагаемым ожиданиям получателей. Среди последних значительную роль играют жанровые ожидания. Отмечается, что, несмотря на неоднозначность теории жанров применительно к типологизации отдельных массивов текстов, в том числе и артефактов телепублицистики, концепция жанра расценивается как продуктивная в транслатологической перспективе. Научная новизна исследования определяется тем фактом, что в его рамках впервые изучаются жанровые критерии адекватности перевода материалов аудиовизуальных СМИ (международных телеканалов). При этом лингвопереводческий анализ параллельных текстов ставит своей целью не оценку отдельных фрагментов перевода с эрратологических позиций, а выявление рекуррентных переводческих стратегий, тактик и приемов, которые предлагается рассматривать как решения, направленные на достижение адекватности. Тем самым реализуется дескриптивный подход к изучению практики аудиовизуального перевода. Эмпирическим материалом для наблюдений послужила выборка оригинальных аудиовизуальных медиатекстов телепрограмм жанра фичер и результатов их языковой локализации, а также аудиовидеозаписей синхронного перевода телевизионных пресс-конференций. Исследование показало, что в процессе межъязыкового перевода и подготовки материалов аудиовизуальных СМИ к трансляции осуществляется ряд переводческих и технологических операций, целью которых является сохранение или воссоздание жанровых особенностей произведения при переносе в иноязычную среду. Proceeding from a critical analysis of heterogeneous approaches to the definition of the concepts “translation adequacy”, “translation norm”, “audiovisual genre”, the author suggests a number of hypotheses concerning the assessment of adequate translation of audiovisual media content. Adequacy is considered not only as the fact of compliance with prescriptive equivalence, stylistic and pragmatic norms in the process and as a result of translation, but also as an integral characteristic of the text and the form of delivery of translation to recipients, the key feature of which is compliance of the translated content with the intended expectations of recipients. Genre expectations play a significant role among the latter. It is noted that, despite the ambiguity of genre theory in relation to the typology of individual text arrays, including artefacts of TV journalism, the concept of genre is regarded as productive in the translatological perspective. The novelty of the study is determined by the fact that genre criteria of adequacy of audiovisual media content translation (retrieved from some international TV channels workflow) are investigated within its framework for the first time. Furthermore, the linguo-translational analysis of parallel texts aims not at evaluating separate translation excerpts from an erratological perspective, but at identifying recurrent translation strategies, tactics and procedures, which are suggested as tentative solutions aimed at achieving adequacy. In this way, the present research adheres to a descriptive approach to the study of audiovisual translation practice. The empirical material for observations was compiled from original audiovisual media texts of feature TV programmes and the results of their linguistic localisation, as well as audio-video recordings of simultaneous interpretation of broadcasted press conferences. The study has shown that interlingual translation and preparation of audiovisual media materials for broadcasting involves a number of translation and technological operations, the purpose of which is to preserve or recreate the genre features of the item when transferring it into a foreign language environment.

PurposeTo meet the rising global needs, the humanitarian community has signed off on making a strategic change toward more localisation, which commonly refers to the empowerment of national and local actors in humanitarian assistance. However, to this date, actual initiatives for localisation are rare. To enhance understanding of the phenomenon, the authors explore localisation of logistics preparedness capacities and obstacles to its implementation. The authors particularly take the perspective of the international humanitarian organisation (IHO) community as they are expected to implement the localisation strategy.Design/methodology/approachA phenomenon-driven, exploratory and qualitative study was conducted. Data collection included in-depth interviews with 28 experienced humanitarian professionals.FindingsThe findings showed the ambiguity inherent in the localisation strategy with largely different views on four important dimensions. Particularly, the interviewees differ about strengthening external actors or internal national/local offices. The resulting framework visualises the gap between strategy formulation and implementation, which forms major obstacles to the localisation aims.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research is required to support the advancement of localisation of logistics preparedness capacities. Important aspects for future research include triangulation of results, other stakeholder perspectives and the influence of context.Practical implicationsThe authors add to the important debate surrounding localisation by offering remedies to overcoming obstacles to strategy implementation. Further, the authors’ proposed framework offers a language to precisely describe the ways in which IHOs (should) view localisation of logistics preparedness capacities and its operationalisation.Originality/valueTo the best of authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first academic article on localisation within the humanitarian logistics context.

Localisation is a key element of the humanitarian reform agenda. However, there are continuing debates regarding its form and emphasis, linked to understandings of the local, the role of the state and the implications for interpretation of humanitarian principles of “de-internationalised” humanitarian response. This paper considers UK engagement with the localisation agenda, particularly through examination of the policies and programmes of the Department for International Development (DFID). The UK was a major contributor to dialogue on localisation at the World Humanitarian Summit of 2016 and has subsequently shown strong support for Grand Bargain commitments and implementation of a larger proportion of programmes involving cash transfers. Overall, however, advance on this agenda has been limited. The paper notes three major areas of constraint. First, logistical concerns have frequently been noted, particularly with respect to tasks such as procurement and financial monitoring. This has limited the engagement of many local actors lacking organisational capacity in these areas. Second, conceptual ambiguity has also played a significant role. Localisation is poorly theorised, and the roles, functions and capacities—beyond procurement of supplies and emergency technical assistance—that local actors may be able to fulfil far more effectively than international ones are not frequently addressed. Narrowly framed understandings of principles such as independence and impartiality, for instance, appear to severely limit confidence in engaging with local religious actors. Third, political considerations appear to have increasingly limited the space for more radical interpretations of the implications of localisation. Successive UK Secretaries of State for International Development have defended the commitment to a fixed proportion of Gross National Income (GNI) for development assistance based on strong public support for UK aid expenditure to reflect national interests and values. In this context, there are few clear political incentives to cede power over decision-making regarding UK Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) to national and local actors in a manner required for fundamental localisation of humanitarian response. Even where there is a clear potential UK interest—for example, bolstering capacity of local actors in contexts vulnerable to humanitarian emergency to avert more costly emergency response—the public perception of capacity strengthening (compared to life-saving humanitarian actions) mitigates against such moves in a climate of contested public spending. The establishment of a merged Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office in 2020 signals the likelihood of a reframing of localisation. While some advancement in terms of some logistical and conceptual barriers may be anticipated, issues of both national interest and public perceptions of national interest seem likely to continue to constrain a more radical implementation of localisation, particularly with current suspension of the commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on ODA.

This paper proposes CAF algorithm to estimate localisation accuracy of a stationary emitter which is being monitored by a pair of sensors mounted on high altitudes. It computes joint Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) and Frequency Difference of Arrival (FDOA) using Cross Ambiguity Function (CAF) and measures geolocation accuracy in presence of biasing in sensor position and velocity. Previous work in this area utilizes TDOA and FDOA measurements with known sensor kinematics which is fed to Maximum Likelihood or Least Squares algorithm for post processing. However it is computation demanding. In the present work, surface peaks of TDOA and FDOA values are directly mapped to geographic coordinates. This method is computationally efficient. As sensor and emitter geometry keeps changing over time due to moving sensors, multiple CAF snapshots are taken for emitter geolocation. Simulations are carried out using MATLAB. It is observed that at 30 dB SNR, location accuracy of stationary emitter is 100 m at known sensor kinematics and by introducing bias in the receiver position and velocity, it is 200 meters. These measurements are well within and in accordance with theoretical developments.

Introduction It appears that graffiti has begun to clean up its act. Escalating numbers of mature graffiti writers feel the removal of their graffiti has robbed them of a history, and are turning to legal projects in an effort to restore it. Phibs has declared the graffiti underground “limited” and Kano claims its illegal aspect no longer inspires him (Hamilton, 73). A sign of the times was the exhibition Sake of Name: Australian Graffiti Now which opened at the Wharf 2 Theatre in January 2001. The exhibition was commissioned by the Sydney Theatre Company and comprised twenty-two pieces painted by graffiti writers from around Australia. Keen to present a respectable image, writers rejected the original title of Bomb the Wharf, as they felt it focused on the negative aspects of the culture (Andrews, 2). Premier Bob Carr opened the exhibition with the declaration that there is a difference between “graffiti art” and “graffiti vandalism”. The Premier’s stance struck a discordant note with Tony Stevens, a twenty-three-year veteran graffiti cleaner. Described by the Sydney Morning Herald as an “urban art critic by default,” Stevens could see no distinction between graffiti art and vandalism (Leys, 1). Furthermore, he expressed his disappointment that the pieces had “no sense of individuality … it could be graffiti from any American city” (Stevens, 1). As far as Stevens could see, Australian graffiti expressed nothing of its Australian context; it simply mimicked that of America. Sydney Theatre Company director Benedict Andrews responded with a venomous attack on Stevens. Andrews accused the cleaner of being blinded by prejudice (1), and felt that years of cleaning texta tags from railway corridors could not have possibly qualified Stevens as an art critic (3). “The artists in this exhibition are not misfits,” Andrews wrote (2). “They are serious artists in dialogue with their culture and the landscapes in which they live” (2). He went on to hail the strength and diversity of the Australian graffiti scene: “it is a vital and agile international culture and in Australia has evolved in specific ways” (1). The altercation between Stevens and Andrews pointed to one of the debates concerning Australian graffiti: whether it is unique or simply imitative of the American form. Hinged on the assessment of graffiti as vandalism is the view that graffiti is dirty, a disease. Proponents of this view consider graffiti to be an undifferentiated global phenomenon. Others conceive of graffiti as art, and as such argue that it is expressive of local experiences. Graffiti writers maintain that graffiti is expressive of local experiences and they describe it in terms of regional styles and aesthetics. This article maps the transformation of hip hop graffiti as it has been disseminated throughout the world. It registers the distinctiveness of graffiti in Australia and argues that graffiti is not a globally homogenous form, but one which develops in a locally specific manner. Writing and Replicating: Hip Hop Graffiti and Cultural Imperialism Contemporary graffiti subcultures are strongly identified with large American cities. Originating in the black neighbourhood cultures of Philadelphia and New York City in the late 1960s and early 1970s, hip hop graffiti emerged as part of a larger, homegrown, alternative youth culture (“Urban Graffiti”, 77). Before the end of the 1970s, the aesthetic codes and stylised images of hip hop graffiti began to disseminate to major cities across America and throughout the globe. Its transmission was facilitated by: the production and export of films such as Style Wars (Silver and Chalfant, 1983) and Wild Style (Ahearn, 1983); the covers of rap albums; graffiti magazines; art dealers; and style manuals such as Subway Art (Cooper and Chalfant) and Spraycan Art (Chalfant and Prigroff). Graffiti migrated to Australian shores during the early 1980s, gaining influence through the appearance of these seminal works, which are credited by many as having inspired them to pick up a can of spraypaint. During its larval stages, the subcultural codes of graffiti invented by American writers were reiterated in an Australian context. Australian graffiti writers poached the vocabulary and rhetoric invented by their American counterparts. Writers spoke of “getting up”, “getting fame” and their “crew”, classifying their work as “tags”, “pieces”, or “throw ups”. They utilised the same bubble letters, and later, the incomprehensible “wildstyle” originally devised by American writers. It was not long, however, before Australian writers were making their own innovations and developing a unique style. Despite this, there is still widespread conviction in the view that Australian graffiti is a replica of an American cultural form. This view is supported at a theoretical level by the concept of cultural imperialism. It is generally understood, at a basic level, to be the diffusion of a foreign culture at the expense of a local culture. The concept has been usefully clarified by John Tomlinson. Since there are various orders of power involved in allegations of cultural imperialism, Tomlinson attempts to resist some implicit “master narrative” of the term, accounting for cultural imperialism in a multidimensional fashion (20). He outlines five possible versions, which inflect cultural imperialism to mean cultural domination; a discourse of nationality; media imperialism; global capital; and modernity (19-28). The idea that Australian graffiti replicates American graffiti draws particularly on the first two versions—that of cultural imperialism as cultural domination, and the discourse of nationality. Both these approaches focus on the processes involved in cultural imperialism—“the invasion of an indigenous culture by a foreign one” (Tomlinson, 23). Many people I spoke to about graffiti saw it as evidence of foreign, particularly American, domination and influence over Australian culture. They expressed concern that the appearance of graffiti would signal an influx of “American” problems: gang activity, escalating violence and social disorder. Cultural imperialism as a discourse of nationality hinges on the concepts of “belonging” and “indigenous culture”. In a conference organised by the Graffiti Program of the Government of Western Australia, Senator Ian Campbell argued that graffiti had no place in Australia. He felt that, “there should be little need for social comment through the vandalism of other’s property. Perhaps in nations where … freedoms are not recognised … but not in Australia” (6). Tomlinson argues that the conceptions of cultural imperialism as both cultural domination and as a discourse of nationality are popular because of their highly ambiguous (and thus accommodating) nature (19, 23). However, both notions are problematic. Tomlinson immediately dismisses the notion of cultural imperialism as cultural domination, arguing that one should aim for specificity. “Imperialism” and “domination” are rather general notions, and as such both have sufficient conceptual breadth and ambiguity to accommodate most uses to which they might be put (19). Cultural imperialism as a discourse of nationality is similarly problematic, relying on the precise definitions of a series of terms—such as belonging, and indigenous culture—which have multiple inflections (24). Cultural imperialism has often been tracked as a process of homogenisation. Conceiving of cultural imperialism as homogenisation is particularly pertinent to the argument for the global homogeneity of graffiti. Cultural homogenisation makes “everywhere seem more or less the same,” assuming a global uniformity which is inherently Western, and in extreme cases, American (6). The implications of “Americanisation” are relevant to the attitudes of Australian graffiti writers. On the Blitzkrieg Bulletin Board—an internet board for Australian graffiti writers—I found evidence of a range of responses to “Americanisation” in Australian graffiti. One of the writers had posted: “you shouldn’t even be doing graff if you are a toy little kid, buying export paint and painting legal walls during the day … f*** all y’all niggaz!” s3 replied, “I do know that modern graffiti originated in America but … token are you American? Why do you want to talk like an American gangsta rapper?” The global currency of graffiti is one in which local originality and distinctiveness are highly prized. It is a source of shame for a writer to “bite”. Many of the writers I spoke to became irate when I suggested that Australian styles “bit” those of America. It seems inconsistent that Australian graffiti writers would reproduce American graffiti, if they do not even tolerate Australian writers using the word “nigga”. Like the argument that Australian graffiti replicates that of America, the concept of cultural imperialism is problematic. By the 1970s the concept was beginning to come apart at the seams, its “artificial coherence” exposed when subjected to a range of applications (Tomlinson, 8). Although the idea of cultural imperialism has been discredited and somewhat abandoned at the level of theory, the concept nonetheless continues to guide attitudes towards graffiti. Jeff Ferrell has argued that the interplay of cultural resources involved in worldwide graffiti directly locates it inside issues of cultural imperialism (“Review of Moscow Graffiti”, paragraph 5). Stylistic and subcultural consistencies are mobilised to substantiate assertions of the operation of cultural imperialism in the global form of graffiti. This serves to render it globally homogeneous. While many graffiti writers would concede that graffiti maintains certain global elements, few would agree that this is indicative of a global homogeneity of form. As part of the hip hop component of their website, Triple J conducted an investigation into graffiti. It found that “the graffiti aesthetic developed in New York has been modified with individual characteristics … and has transformed into a unique Australian style” (“Old Skool”, paragraph 6). Veteran writers Umph, Exit, Phibs and Dmote agree. Perth writer Zenith claims, “we came up with styles from the US back in the day and it has grown into something quite unique” (personal communication). Exit declares, “every city has its own particular style. Graffiti from Australia can easily be distinguished by graffiti artists. Australia has its own particular style” (1). Umph agrees: “to us writers, the differences are obvious” (2). Although some continue to perceive Australian graffiti as replicating that of America, it appears that this is no longer the case. Evidence has emerged that Australian graffiti has evolved into a unique and localised form, which no longer imitates that of America. “Going Over” Cultural Imperialism: Hip Hop Graffiti and Processes of Globalisation The argument that graffiti has developed local inflections has lately garnered increasing support due to new theories of global cultural interaction and exchange. The modern era has been characterised by the increasing circulation of goods, capital, knowledge, information, people, images, ideologies, technologies and practices across national borders and territorial boundaries (Appadurai, 230; Scholte, 10). Academic discussion of these developments has converged in recent years around the concept of “globalisation”. While cultural imperialism describes these movements as the diffusion of a foreign culture at the expense of a local one, globalisation interprets these profound changes as evidence of “a global ecumene of persistent cultural interaction and exchange” (Hannerz, 107). In such a view, the globe is not characterised by domination and homogenisation (as with cultural imperialism), but more in terms of exchange and heterogeneity. Recent studies acknowledge that globalisation is complex and multidimensional (Giddens, 30; Kalb, 1), even a process of paradoxes (Findlay, 30). Globalisation is frequently described in terms of contradictory processes—universalisation vs. particularisation, homogenisation vs. differentiation, integration vs. fragmentation. Another of these dialectical tendencies is that of localisation. Kloos defines localisation as representing “the rise of localised, culturally defined identities … localisation stresses sociocultural specificity, in a limited space” (281). While localisation initially appears to stand in opposition to globalisation, the concepts are actually involved in a dialectical process (Giddens, 64). The relationship between localisation and globalisation has been formulated as follows: “Processes of globalisation trigger identity movements leading to the creation of localised, cultural-specific, identities” (Kloos, 282). The development of localisation is particularly pertinent to this study of graffiti. The concept allows for local diversity and has led to the understanding that global cultural phenomena are involved in a process of exchange. Work around globalisation lends credence to the argument that, as graffiti has disseminated throughout the globe, it has mutated to the specific locale within which it exists. Graffiti has always been locally specific: from the early stages which witnessed writers such as Julio 204, Fran 207 and Joe 136 (the numbers referred to their street), to the more recent practice of suffixing tag names with the name of a writers’ crew and their area code. The tendency to include area codes has been largely abandoned in Australia as the law has responded to graffiti with increasing vigilance, but evolutions in graffiti have pointed towards the development of regionally specific styles which writers have come to recognise. Thus, graffiti cannot be thought of as a globally homogenous form, nor can it be said that Australian graffiti replicates that of America. As hip hop has circulated throughout the globe it has appeared to adopt local inflections, having adapted into something quite locally distinctive. In a sense hip hop has been “translated” to particular circumstances. It is now appropriate to consider Australian hip hop and graffiti as a translation of a global cultural phenomenon. A useful reference in this regard is Yuri Lotman, who designates dialogue as the elementary mechanism of translation (143). He suggests that participants involved in a dialogue alternate between a position of “transmission” and “reception” (144). Hence cultural developments are cyclical, and relationships between units—which may range from genres to national cultures—pass through periods of “transmission” and “reception” (144). Lotman proposes that the relationship between structures follows a pattern: at first, a structure will appear in decline, static, unoriginal. He records these “intermissions” as “pauses in dialogue”, during which the structure absorbs influences from the outside (144). When saturation reaches a certain limit, the structure begins producing its own texts as its “passive state changes to a state of alertness” (145). This is a useful way of comprehending Australian hip hop culture. It appears that the Australian hip hop scene has left behind its period of “reception” and is now witnessing one of “transmission” in which it is producing uniquely Australian flavours and styles. Of the contemporary graffiti I have observed, it appears that Australian writing is truly distinctive. Australian writers may have initially poached the subcultural codes developed by their American counterparts, however Australia has evolved to be truly unique where it counts—in graffiti styles. Distinctive graffiti styles can be witnessed, not only between different continents, but also within geographic locations. American graffiti registers a variety of locally specific forms. New York remains devoted to the letter, while graffiti on the west coast of America is renowned for its gang writing. American lettering styles tend to develop existing styles. New York wildstyle is easily recognised, and differs from letters in the Bay Area and San Francisco, which feature arrows inside the letters. While American graffiti is by and large concerned with letters, Australia has gained some repute for its exploration of characters. Like American writers, Australians employ characters poached from popular culture, but for the most part Australian writers employ characters and figures that they have invented themselves, often poaching elements from a wide variety of sources and utilising a wide variety of styles. Marine imagery, not usually employed in American graffiti, recurs in Australian pieces. Kikinit in the Park, a youth festival held in Fremantle in March 2001, featured a live urban art display by Bugszy Snaps, who combined oceanic and graffiti iconography, fusing sea creatures with spraypaint cans. Phibs also “uses images from the sea a lot” (Hamilton, 73), having grown up at the beach. In spite of this focus on the development of characters and images, Australia has not neglected the letter. While initially Australian graffiti artists imitated the styles developed in America, Australian lettering has evolved into something exceptional. Some writers have continued to employ bubble letters and wildstyle, and Australia has kept up with modifications in wildstyle that has seen it move towards 3D. Australia has cultivated this form of traditional wildstyle, elevating it to new heights. Sometimes it is combined with other styles; other times it appears as controlled wildstyle—set around a framework of some sort. In other instances, Australia has charted new territory with the letter, developing styles that are completely individual. Australian writing also blends a variety of lettering and graphic styles, combining letters and figures in new and exciting ways. Australian graffiti often fuses letters with images. This is relatively rare in American graffiti, which tends to focus on lettering and, on the whole, utilises characters to less effect than Australian graffiti. Conclusion Graffiti is not a globally homogeneous form, but one which has developed in locally specific and distinctive ways. As hip hop graffiti has circulated throughout the globe it has been translated between various sites and developed local inflections. In order to visualise graffiti in this manner, it is necessary to recognise theories of cultural imperialism as guiding the widespread belief that graffiti is a globally homogeneous form. I have refuted this view and the worth of cultural imperialism in directing attitudes towards graffiti, as there is a valid foundation for considering the local distinctiveness of Australian graffiti. By engaging critically with literature around globalisation, I have established a theoretical base for the argument that graffiti is locally specific. Envisaging the global form of hip hop graffiti as translated between various sites and having developed in locally specific ways has exposed the study of graffiti outside of the United States. Current writings on cultural studies and graffiti are dominated by the American academy, taking the United States as its centre. In rectifying this imbalance, I stress the need to recognise the distinctiveness of other cultures and geographic locations, even if they appear to be similar. While writers across Australia argue that their locations produce original styles, few have been willing to expound on how their scene is “fresh”. One writer I spoke with was an exception. Zenith explained that: “the way we are original is that our style has developed for so long, fermented if you will, because of Perth being so damned isolated” (personal communication). He went on to say: “I also happen to feel that we’re losing the originality every second of every day, for a number of reasons … with web sites, videos, magazines, and all this type of graffito affiliated stuff” (personal communication). Hip hop graffiti culture is one in which communication and exchange is of central concern. The circulation of this “graffito affiliated stuff”—websites, graffiti magazines, videos, books—as well as the fact that aerosol artists frequently travel to other cities and countries to write, demonstrates that this is a culture which, although largely identified with America, is also global in reach. This global interaction and exchange is increasingly characterised by a complex relationship which involves imitation and adaptation. 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"“To Us Writers, the Differences Are Obvious”: The Adaptation of Hip Hop Graffiti to an Australian Context." M/C Journal 10.2 (2007). echo date('d M. Y'); ?> <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0705/05-lombard.php>. APA Style Lombard, K. (May 2007) "“To Us Writers, the Differences Are Obvious”: The Adaptation of Hip Hop Graffiti to an Australian Context," M/C Journal, 10(2). Retrieved echo date('d M. Y'); ?> from <http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0705/05-lombard.php>.