Estimation of the covariance matrix of asset returns is a key component of portfolio optimization. Inherent in any estimation technique is the capacity to inaccurately reflect current market conditions. Typical of Markowitz portfolio optimization theory, which we use as the basis for our analysis, is to assume that asset returns are stationary. This assumption inevitably causes an optimized portfolio to fail during a market crash since estimates of covariance matrices of asset returns no longer re ect current conditions. We use the market crash of 2008 to exemplify this fact. A current industry standard benchmark for estimation is the Ledoit covariance matrix, which attempts to adjust a portfolio's aggressiveness during varying market conditions. We test this technique against the CALM (Covariance Adjustment for Liability Management Method), which incorporates forward-looking signals for market volatility to reduce portfolio variance, and assess under certain criteria how well each model performs during recent market crash. We show that CALM should be preferred against the sample convariance matrix and Ledoit covariance matrix under some reasonable weight constraints.

This thesis focuses on the technological trends in smart products, and analyzes their conformity to the user expectations. The advances in computation technologies have totally revolutionized the product concept, and with the integration of microchips, software and sensors into the classical everyday objects, smart products, able to sense the context, reason about the sensed data and act according to the situation, have emerged. This new way of computing basing on the ubiquitous and calm computing visions, has distributed the digital information into the surrounding environment, and once freed from the limited resources provided by the classical desktop based computing, attempted to enhance user product communication and collaboration in everyday environments. Via their sensing - decision making - acting process and advanced interaction capabilities, smart products have gained the ability to better interpret user needs and intuitively communicate with users through simplified interfaces involving the majority of the senses without even disturbing or overburdening their users. The study first, throughout a literature review, examines these improvements in computation technologies and determines the trends related to smart products. An empirical research is then conducted to find out to what extend user expectations from smart products overlap with the ongoing researches in this area. The findings including users&rsquo / conception about smartness and expectations from different types of smart products are analyzed regarding to the technological trends to deduce the coherence between literature&rsquo / s orientation and user preferences. The study considered the technological trends as a database and takes the user expectations as the design motivation.

A Display Computer (DC) is an everyday object: Display Computer = Display + Computer. The “Display” part is the standard viewing surface found on everyday objects that conveys information or art. The “Computer” is found on the same everyday object; but by its ubiquitous nature, it will be relatively unnoticeable by the DC user, as it is manufactured “in the margins”. A DC may be mobile, moving with us as part of the everyday object we are using. DCs will be ubiquitous: “effectively invisible”, available at a glance, and seamlessly integrated into the environment. A DC should be an example of Weiser’s calm technology: encalming to the user, providing peripheral awareness without information overload. A DC should provide unremarkable computing in support of our daily routines in life. The nbaCub (nightly bedtime ambient Cues utility buddy) prototype illustrates a sample application of how DCs can be useful in the everyday environment of the home of the future. Embedding a computer into a toy, such that the display is the only visible portion, can present many opportunities for seamless and nontraditional uses of computing technology for our youngest user community. A field study was conducted in the home environment of a five-year old child over ten consecutive weeks as an informal, proof of concept of what Display Computers for children can look like and be used for in the near future. The personalized nbaCub provided lightweight, ambient information during the necessary daily routines of preparing for bed (evening routine) and preparing to go to school (morning routine). To further understand the child’s progress towards learning abstract concepts of time passage and routines, a novel “test by design” activity was included. Here, the role of the subject changed to primary designer/director. Final post-testing showed the subject knew both morning and bedtime routines very well and correctly answered seven of eight questions based on abstract images of time passage. Thus, the subject was in the process of learning the more abstract concept of time passage, but was not totally comfortable with the idea at the end of the study.

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The present study examined the implementation of a self-management strategy, termed the calm carrel, as a potential means of bringing about behavioural improvement (as reflected, primarily, in global behavioural ratings, extent of isolation time-out assignments, and student and teacher feedback) among six classes of Grade 4 to 6 children with emotional and behavioural disorders, being educated in self-contained classroom settings. The intervention consisted of a carrel within the class which students could choose to visit for up to three, 5-minute periods per day. While at the carrel, students could select from a variety of audio-based strategies provided on a CD player, comprising soothing music selections, as well as progressive muscle relaxation exercises, and visualization narratives which the children could work through. The option of completing a simple problem-solving form, as a means of reflecting upon their behaviour, was also provided. During both the 20-day baseline and 20-day experimental phase of the study, teachers maintained daily behavioural ratings and time-out frequency counts (also indicating the precipitating factor in the case of each time-out). Students kept their own records of carrel usage, and also completed pre- and post-intervention surveys and feedback forms. At the conclusion of the study, teachers completed a feedback form and were interviewed by the researcher. T-tests, Wilcoxon-signed rank tests, and ANOVA tests on the quantitative data garnered from the study, did not reveal the presence of significant trends suggestive of behavioural changes, within the data. Both student and teacher feedback, however, was largely positive, and can be regarded as indicative of the calm carrels value as an intervention blending self-management and relaxation techniques to provide a non-punitive student-directed alternative to the predominantly teacher-mediated approaches often characteristic of EBD classrooms. The intervention, deemed worthy of further study as a result of the present thesis, is thought to represent a technique which might help to facilitate the transition of students with EBD from segregated to inclusive class settings, insofar as it should be equally feasible to implement in both environments. / Special Education

Preoperative psychological state is a major issue in day surgery; especially as patients have a short hospital stay. Except for preoperative anxiety, knowledge is sparse about how patients’ experience mood during waiting for day surgery. The overall aim of this thesis was to describe preoperative moods, persons’ experiences of preoperative mood, and the experiences persons´ describe as having an influence on their preoperative waiting. In study І, mixed methods were used. Data from 163 participants were collected through a study-specific questionnaire. In study ІІ, a qualitative method was used. Data from 20 participants were collected through semi-structured interviews. All participants (n=183) were waiting for small or medium surgery within four different specialties’ (I, II). Data were analysed with descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis (І) and inductive content analysis (ІІ). The main finding was that preoperative patients experience a variety of moods, besides anxiety patients may experience a positive mood. Moodinfluencing factors while waiting for day surgery were found. Patients may experience a shifting mood or to not feel calm, while other patients may feel calm, and experience a harmonious mood. Nearly half of the participants felt calm before surgery, as seventy persons (43 %) stated that they felt calm, whereas 91 persons (57%) stated that they did not feel calm (І). Previous negative experiences from health care were confirmed as a trigger for anxiety. Earlier positive experiences, feelings of trust and expectations contribute to a harmonious mood and to feel calm. Regard-less of mood, patients´ experienced feeling hope about regaining health as a help to balance mood (I-II). The findings contribute to knowledge about different preoperative moods and may have implications in improving preoperative care with support strategies that benefits patients’ during waiting for day surgery regardless of psychological state / <p>Alternativ benämning av serie</p><p>Örebro Studies in Care Sciences</p>

Loneliness is a growing social problem that affects people from different age groups. Studies have shown that loneliness is prevalent more in young adults and the elderly demographic. Loneliness can pose serious health issues like cognitive malfunction, heart disease, stroke, depression, etc. People who stay alone from friends and family tend to feel lonelier. Conventional communication tools like a phone or video calls or using social media applications can help the users connect with people but also have adverse effects. As a result of this, the potential of an alternative nonverbal mode of communication needs to be explored. The research aims to understand individuals' behavior, traits, and hidden needs when it comes to loneliness. The purpose is to suggest an alternative way of communication that creates a sense of presence and ensures mental well for the people living alone and suffer from emotional loneliness. The concept of Calm and ambient technology has been explored in this thesis as an alternative means of communication. Users’ needs were gathered from eight semi-structured interviews, and two stakeholders were identified. Over forty ideas were generated from brainstorming. The ideas were sent to twenty individuals through snowballing. The response from them was analyzed and narrowed down by using concept screening and concept scoring. The final concept was a device called ‘One home lamp.’ The device uses light to show the presence of remote family members or loved ones to a person living alone. This concept product was then evaluated through ‘Mankoff’s heuristics’ to see its credibility as a calm ambient artifact.

This thesis project presents a research through design process that has aimed to explore how we can design interactive technologies that can support mindfulness practices in beginners. This has been done by designing a meditative lamp, Lumina, which can be controlled by the user’s neural oscillations. The user interacts with the lamp by changing alpha and beta brain waves levels through meditation. The prototype has been evaluated with four participants and the testing sessions had three stages: a preliminary questionnaire to learn about participants' mindfulness level, interaction with my prototype providing the opportunity to explore mindfulness and electroencephalography (EEG), and a post-interview to reflect on their experience with the prototype. The biggest challenge of this project was to support mindfulness without disrupting the practice. Lumina has been developed through an iterative process, guided by relevant literature and works in the field of meditation, neurology, and calm technology.

Urban cycling is gaining popularity worldwide. Inadequate local and international guidelines on street cycling have contributed to a significant increase in road traffic, including increased accidents involving cyclists. In parallel, worldwide, safety data indicates that low-income countries have a high average rate of traflic fatalities (27,5 deaths per 100,000 population), more than three times higher compared to high-income countries (8,3 deaths per 1000.000 population) [1]. Another study found that safety and security factors have not been sufficiently addressed in previous studies regarding bicycle mobility. These factors seem to be more relevant in developing countries than developed ones, and more research is needed [2]. ... [From: Introduction]

We have investigated two different smartphone meditation apps to determine if they have any effects on stress and check if they are a viable tool that users can engage with to cope with stress during a work break. The dependent variables being measured include affective and cognitive restoration. The control group performed a coloring activity using a mandala figure. The experimental conditions engaged in app guided meditation through either 10% Happier or Calm. Both are health apps that are intended to help users practice a variety of mindfulness meditation exercises and help build healthy habits. This research focused on a specific form of meditation known as mindfulness meditation for gratitude, afterward we analyzed the findings. Previous workplace mindfulness intervention trials have focused on reducing psychological stress, with limited empirical evidence showing that mindfulness training leads to improvements in the other domains, such as affective and cognitive processes. Research on mobile meditation apps may have been limited by ceiling effects given that previous research did not attempt to induce stress and fatigue prior to intervention. The vigilance task has been used to reduce the occurrence of the ceiling effect, it has the purpose of inducing stress and cognitive fatigue prior to intervention. We ran participants through the experiment then measure and analyze their data to see if stress reduction benefits of mindfulness-based meditation for gratitude can effectively restore stress levels once induced. Benefits associated with meditation include an improved capacity to cope with stressful situations and enhanced attention regulation which are key performance indicators across many domains. First participants took the Big Five Personality test. Then completed a baseline affective and cognitive assessment (ACA), which included the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, the shortened version of the Dundee Stress State Questionnaire, and the N-back test. Next, participants completed the vigilance task, followed by another ACA. Participants were then randomly assigned to complete a coloring activity, 10% Happier, or Calm followed by an ACA. Last, participants in the experimental conditions completed the System Usability Scale. Application: Everyday life involves cognitive demands that can be stressful and decrease performance, especially for workers and college students whose performance is vital within their domains. This research investigates the potential of mindfulness meditation apps' ability to restore cognitive and affective processes once depleted.