Background & Objectives: Blindness always means the inability to perceive the surrounding images and visualize them, which in turn leads to poor sensory perception and social communication. The blind perceives and visualizes the world around them by relying on other senses (hearing, touch, smell, and taste). Thus, the painting of the blind represents an embodiment of the world around them. A review of the literature shows that in the research done so far, the brain ability of the blind in visual visualization, the activity of the visual cortex and its relationship with mental imagery have mainly been studied from a physiological and psychological perspective. In terms of emphasizing the ability of mental visualization in blind people, there are commonalities with this research, with the difference that in the forthcoming research, the focus is on the visual results of this capability. However, the blind and how it is possible to analyze and understand the world of the blind have not been researched in this field. The purpose of the current research was to evaluate and analyze the visual quality of the mental images drawn by the blind. Methods: This research was conducted with a combined quantitative-qualitative research method, so that the results obtained from painting education to 10 blind people aged 12 to 18 years have been studied. Paintings had three themes: painting based on a tangible model, imaginary painting, and free painting. It should be noted that the tools, conditions and training hours were the same for all members of this group. A total of 100 paintings have been selected as a case study (10 works from each blind person) and were analyzed descriptively based on visual characteristics: color, texture, line, and surface. From the analysis of quantitative results obtained on case samples, the main visual features in the paintings of the blind were inferred and identified. Results: The research findings showed that, images and forms used in blind painting, regardless of the representation of objects, can also express their thoughts, feelings, and emotions. It is inferred that the use of pure colors, texture, embossing, using dots instead of lines, and 2D drawing were the 4 main visual components in the paintings of the blind. Analyzing the quantitative data of this research and achieving the dominant visual features in the paintings of the blind, as well as its compliance with the views and theories expressed in the theoretical framework, 7 main features were found as features of paintings in the blind: abstractionism, co-institutional (meaning construction of complex concepts from simple elements), hybrid perspective, unconventional and disproportionate composition, use of pure colors, transformation and distortion of familiar traits and symbolism. Conclusion: According to the research findings, it is necessary to pay attention to the features of blind people's paintings to discover the world inside these people. Painting has an effective role in increasing self-confidence and strengthening the mental imagery of the blind. As a result, it can be used as a useful educational method for the blind.

Many anomaly detection algorithms require knowledge of the ratio of the two labels to operate‎. ‎In real life‎, ‎however‎, ‎we may not have access to this value‎. ‎As such‎, ‎we often run anomaly detection packages with default values that may differ significantly from the actual value‎. ‎Experiments on multiple datasets show that correctly determination of this ratio or at least obtaining a close estimate can makes a significant difference in the final performance of the anomaly detection algorithm‎. ‎In this paper‎, ‎we address the problem of estimating this ratio using both theoretical and heuristic techniques‎. ‎In the theoretical method‎, ‎we maximize the mutual information between features and labels to find the exact ratio‎. ‎In the heuristic method‎, ‎we sweep the [0, 1] range in 0. 01 steps to search for the ratio‎. ‎On each iteration‎, ‎we run the anomaly detection algorithm based on the ratio for that iteration and record the correlation coefficient between the features and the label generated by the algorithm‎. ‎After the 100th iteration‎, ‎we declare the ratio that provides the maximum correlation coefficient as our estimate of the label ratio‎. ‎Our experiments on multiple datasets and several anomaly detection algorithms show that maximizing the correlation coefficient leads to the best results.

Objective: The present study aimed at investigating the relationship between attachment styles and self-efficacy in blind and non-blind female high school students in Tehran.Methods: The statistical population consisted of all female students studying in grades one or two in Tehran girl’s high schools, in the academic year 2014. The study design was causal-comparative, conducted on 120 subjects consisting of 60 blind girls selected through convenient sampling method and 60 non-blind girls selected through randomized clustering sampling method. Data were collected through two questionnaires of attachment styles of Collins and Read (1990) (RAAS) and self-efficacy scale (SEQ-C) of Muris. To analyze the data, descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (multivariate analysis of variance) were used.Results: The study results indicated a significant difference between blind and non-blind students’ efficacy and attachment styles. Avoidance attachment style as well as emotional, social, and public efficacy of these two groups revealed no significant difference. Moreover, the results indicated a significant difference between anxiety attachment style and emotional, social, and public efficacy of these two groups (P>0.05). Finally, a significant difference was observed between secure attachment style and emotional, social, and general efficacy of blind and non-blind students.Conclusion: The blind and non-blind students are significantly different with regard to anxiety and secure attachment styles. However, their emotional, social, and academic self- efficacy seems to be the same. Although there was a significant difference between blind and non-blind students with regard to attachment styles, a significant association was seen between different dimensions of self-efficacy of blind and non-blind students (P<0.05).