Building smart home environments which automatically or semi-automatically assist and comfort occupants is an important topic in the pervasive computing field, especially with the coming of cheap, easy-to-install sensors. This has given rise to the indispensable need for human activity recognition from ubiquitous sensors whose purpose is to observe and understand what occupants are trying to do from sensory data. The main approach to the problem of human activity recognition is a probabilistic one so as to handle the complication of uncertainty, the overlapping of human behaviours and environmental noise. This thesis develops a probabilistic model as a framework for human activity recognition using multiple multi-modal sensors in complex pervasive environments. The probabilistic model to be developed is adapted and based on the abstract hidden Markov model (AHMM) with one layer to fuse multiple sensors. The concept of factored state representation is employed in the model to parsimoniously represent the state transitions for reducing the number of required parameters. The exact method is used in learning the model’s parameters and performing inference. To be able to incorporate a large number of sensors, several more parsimonious representations including the mixtures of smaller multinomials and sigmoid functions are investigated to model the state transitions, resulting in a reduction of the number of parameters and time required for training. / We examine the approximate variational method to significantly reduce the time required for training the model instead of using the exact method. A system of fixed point equations is derived to iteratively update the free variational parameters. We also present the factored model in the case where all variables are continuous with the use of the conditional Gaussian distribution to model state transitions. The variational method is still employed in this case to speed up the model’s training process. The developed model is implemented and applied in recognizing daily activity in our smart home and the Nokia lab from multiple sensors. The experimental results show that the model is appropriate for fusing multiple sensors in activity recognition with a reasonable recognition performance.

This study examined the role of home environments in the cognitive and behavioral outcomes of children born to teenage mothers. The sample consisted of 1,011 firstborn children aged 6 to 18 and their mothers selected from the 1990 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). Multivariate regression analyses revealed that the quality of home environments mediated the effects of father presence on the behavioral adjustment of children, even taking other socio-demographic and maternal characteristics into account. Moreover, the results showed that the home environment was the best predictor for both the academic achievement and the behavioral problems of children even after controlling for such background factors as family income, number of children, maternal education, and self-esteem. Also, when other variables in the model were statistically accounted for, the mothers' age at first birth was unrelated to the quality of home environments, and with controlling for the home environment, it was not a significant predictor of either the cognitive attainment or the behavioral adjustment of children. The findings evidence the importance of home environments for the optimal development of children, and suggest that strong home environments contribute to prevent potential negative outcomes and promote positive developmental outcomes of children born to teenage mothers. / Ph. D.

<p>Hong Kong is an Asian metropolis with a population of approximately seven million. Previous studies on the region concentrate on its history that is marked by radical changes to conclude that the on-going makeovers in the physical environment leave people without a permanence of place. Researchers also say that this fluid history eradicates temporal identity because pre-modernism and post-modernism exist at the same time. This study investigates how to describe and explain the relationship between people and environment in Hong Kong. Six informants who are from Hong Kong and who live in Hong Kong help to portray an image of home that does not agree with earlier studies. By looking at physical and emotional boundaries, expressions, and temporal dimensions, this study shows that people cannot be separated from their environment as both parts constitute the unity of being home. This study therefore concludes that neither the sense of place nor the temporal identity is threatened by the region's history of instability. Rather, the informants express a strong sense of home because of the fast pace of life in Hong Kong.</p>

Hong Kong is an Asian metropolis with a population of approximately seven million. Previous studies on the region concentrate on its history that is marked by radical changes to conclude that the on-going makeovers in the physical environment leave people without a permanence of place. Researchers also say that this fluid history eradicates temporal identity because pre-modernism and post-modernism exist at the same time. This study investigates how to describe and explain the relationship between people and environment in Hong Kong. Six informants who are from Hong Kong and who live in Hong Kong help to portray an image of home that does not agree with earlier studies. By looking at physical and emotional boundaries, expressions, and temporal dimensions, this study shows that people cannot be separated from their environment as both parts constitute the unity of being home. This study therefore concludes that neither the sense of place nor the temporal identity is threatened by the region's history of instability. Rather, the informants express a strong sense of home because of the fast pace of life in Hong Kong.

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This study described (a) the factors and activities in the home environment which appear to affect children's reading competence and affective dimensions of reading, (b) the parents' language style when interacting with their children, (c) the rate of reading acquisition for children from differing home environments, and (d) observable behaviors as children learn to read.

Smart Grid research is growing around the world due to the need to replace the ageing old electricity grid with an intelligent, reliable electricity network. The smart grid aims at creating a reliable power distribution and efficient power usage in homes. One of the key issues focused in this project is providing real time energy feedback to users, which is minimal or non-existent in the current grid system. This thesis investigates about using smart TVs to provide real time energy feedback in homes. Since its introduction in 2009 smart TVs are growing in popularity in European market. To provide real time energy feedback on smart TVs three features are identified Smart TV application, ambilighting and push notification. The Human-centered design process is used for designing the Smart TV interface system using the identified features. A literature study is conducted to gather the user requirements for the smart TV interface. The information gathered during the study is used for the design and implementation of the interface prototype. As an example platform the Philips smart TV 2013 is chosen to demonstrate the various features that can be used to provide energy feedback. The usability of the Smart TV interface is evaluated with users and the results are recorded. The smart TV application, ambient lighting and push notification system in Smart TVs is demonstrated for providing real-time energy feedback. The interface is evaluated with users and results are discussed. The result suggests that Smart TVs can serve as an informational display in homes. The Smart TV interface should be interlinked with Smart Phone and Tablet applications to be effective, further the users prefer the Smart Phone over the Smart TV application to control the household devices. / The thesis work evaluates the potential of using smart TVs to provide real time energy feedback in homes. The results of the thesis showed that smart phone are the primary interaction medium suitable for home environment while smart TVs can serve as an informative medium to provide ambient feedback in homes. / praveenjelish@ymail.com +46727700788

The aim of this study is to analyze school counselors' experience regarding their work with children living under difficult home conditions. The objective is the counselors' view on their profession, their perceived mandate within their professional role, and the resources allocated to them. The method applied in this study is a qualitative approach. The data collection is characterized by interviews conducted with seven school counselors. Previous research has shown that the professional role as school counselor is unclear, and that the profession lacks precise policies. In research studies, Lipsky's theory of grassroots bureaucrats has been used, where we also have chosen to use the informal and formal scope. Through analysis, the result has shown that several of the school counselors perceive their professional role as undefined. Some of the school counselors said that they appreciate the unclear role because it provides them with an extensive and flexible mandate within their professional role. Furthermore the result shows that the school counselors perceive that some laws, such as the confidentiality law for example, limits their professional mandate. In the realm of available resources, the result has shown that most school counselors experience insufficient resources, often in the form of time and lack of competence development. Overall the school counselors experience limitations within their role and there are thus opportunities for development.