CrackGauGAN: Semantic Layout-based Crack Image Synthesis for Automated Crack Segmentation

Honghu Chu; Weiwei Chen; Lu Deng

Possessor (2020) Apr 2026

The performance of identity in a digitized, gig-economy world.

Cronenberg brilliantly highlights the devastating toll of this constant performance. When Tasya returns to her actual home and her real family, she is shown sitting in her car, practicing her own "natural" dialogue and expressions before entering her house. She has worn the masks of others for so long that her own authentic self has been hollowed out. She must actively perform being a wife and a mother. This dynamic serves as an extreme metaphor for the hyper-commodified worker under modern capitalism, where individuals are forced to fracture their psyches and adopt artificial personas to fit corporate molds. III. The Violation of the Physical Self ‎'Possessor' review by Mike D'Angelo • Letterboxd

The erosion of human empathy and connection under corporate mandates. 📄 Full Paper: "The Ghost in the Borrowed Shell" I. Introduction

The concept of "somatic wholeness"—the understanding of the human body as a unified, self-contained, and sovereign entity—has long served as the foundation for personal identity. However, the rapid advancement of modern surveillance and biomedical technologies has severely fractured this boundary. In his 2020 film Possessor , writer-director Brandon Cronenberg pushes this anxiety to its absolute limit. The film introduces us to Tasya Vos, an assassin working for a secretive corporate syndicate that uses brain-implant technology to project her consciousness into the bodies of unwitting hosts to carry out high-profile hits. II. Identity as Performance and the Gig Economy

The Ghost in the Borrowed Shell: Corporate Parasitism and the Dissolution of Identity in Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor .

Dr. Mohamed Al-Hussein is a professor, Research Chair in the Industrialization and Decarbonization of Construction, in the of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta. He held the NSERC Industrial Research Chair in the Industrialization of Building Construction and was the inaugural director of the Nasseri School of Building Science and Engineering. He is a highly sought researcher in the areas of modular and offsite construction, lean manufacturing, construction process optimization, and BIM. Dr. Al-Hussein’s research has been published in over 400 articles in leading journals and conference proceedings.

Farzad is a Professor of Digital Engineering at the School of Computing, Engineering and Digital Technologies, Teesside University, UK. He is the leader of the Centre for Sustainable Engineering and Open Research and Output Quality Lead, SCEDT, Teesside University. He is Editor in Chief: Smart and Sustainable Built Environment (SCI/JCR IF=3.6, CiteScore Tracker: 9.1) and Associate Editor: AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION (SCI/JCR IF=10.3, Citescore: 16.7). Farzad has a robust research track record delivering more than 200 quality publications and more than 3800 citations. Farzad’s research covers various aspects of Construction 5.0, with a strong emphasis on adopting cutting-edge technologies to serve the NetZero and sustainability agenda, including XR for H&S training, AI and deep-learning for sustainable infrastructures and logistics, smart construction, circular construction, energy policies, data-driven digital twins, demand response optimisation, smart energies, DLT and blockchain technologies, and social innovation. Farzad has successfully led several high-profile research projects – from H2021, InnovateUK through to the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), European Regional Development Funds (ERDF), Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC), Scottish Funding Council (SFC), Data Lab, and Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC). Farzad secured research and innovation income of over £2.5m. This expertise and standing are also recognised through several high-profile bodies, including the International Council for Building (CIB) and buildingSMART International. He graduated with 10 PhD students in the topics across the fields above, and some of them are already senior academics at reputable institutions such as the University of Cambridge, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Salford, and some hold leadership positions in the industry.