This thesis aims to explore how to physically interact with computational models on an interactive tabletop display. The research began with the design and implementation of several prototype systems. The research of the prototype systems showed that tangible interactions on interactive tabletops have the potential to be more effective on some tasks than traditional interfaces that use screen displays, keyboards and mice. The prototype work shaped the research to focus on the effectiveness of adopting tangible interactions on interactive tabletops. To substantiate the thesis claims, this thesis develops an interactive tabletop application, Pathways, to support the fitting process in modeling biological systems. Pathways supports the concepts of Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) and tabletop visualizations. It realizes real-time simulation of models and provides comparisons of simulation results with experimental data on the tabletop. It also visualizes the simulation of the model with animations. In addition to that, Pathways introduces a new visualization to help systems biologists quickly compare the simulation results. This thesis provides the quantitative and qualitative evaluation results of Pathways. The evidence showed that using tangible interactions to control numerical values is practical. The results also showed that in experimental conditions users achieved better fitting results and faster fitting results on Pathways than the control group, which used the systems biologists' current tools. The results further suggested that it is possible to recruit non-experts to perform the fitting tasks that are usually done by professional systems biologists.

No description available.

Thesis (M.C.S.) - Carleton University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-84). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Bibliography: p. 199-207. Describes the basis of a theoretical and experimental project, directed at the design and evaluation of a practical active noise control system suitable for a single light engine aircraft. The performance of virtual sensors were evaluated both analytically and experimentally in progressively more complex environments to identify their capabilities and limitations.

Gegenstand der Arbeit ist das Leben sowie das Werk des ersten russischen mathematischen Ökonomen Vladimir Karpovic Dmitriev (1868-1913). Es werden alle bekannten Schriften Dmitrievs vorgestellt und eine Einführung und Interpretation seines wirtschaftstheoretischen Hauptwerkes, den „Ökonomischen Essays“ (1898/1902), angeboten. Daneben erfolgt eine Beschreibung seiner Stellung innerhalb der russischen Nationalökonomie sowie eine Würdigung im Kontext der westlichen Volkswirtschaftslehre. Dabei werden die bis dato zu Dmitriev gewonnenen Erkenntnisse integriert, vertieft und kritisch hinterfragt. Auskünfte zur russischen Geschichte sowie die Erläuterung landestypischer Begriffe erleichtern das Verständnis der Dmitriev’schen Positionen. Es zeigt sich, dass Dmitriev allen gesundheitlichen und materiellen Widrigkeiten zum Trotz eine beachtliche wissenschaftliche Leistung vollbrachte: Er gelangte zu Erkenntnissen, die seiner Zeit um Jahrzehnte voraus waren und deren Relevanz bis in die Gegenwart reicht. Nicht nur trug er zu einem verbesserten Verständnis der klassischen Theorie bei und nahm damit einige Elemente der Forschung in den 1950/60er Jahren vorweg, Pionierleistungen erbrachte er ebenfalls für die Input-Output-Analyse sowie auf dem Gebiet der unvollkommenen Konkurrenz.

Gegenstand der Arbeit ist das Leben sowie das Werk des ersten russischen mathematischen Ökonomen Vladimir Karpovic Dmitriev (1868-1913). Es werden alle bekannten Schriften Dmitrievs vorgestellt und eine Einführung und Interpretation seines wirtschaftstheoretischen Hauptwerkes, den Ökonomischen Essays (1898/1902), angeboten. Daneben erfolgt eine Beschreibung seiner Stellung innerhalb der russischen Nationalökonomie sowie eine Würdigung im Kontext der westlichen Volkswirtschaftslehre. Dabei werden die bis dato zu Dmitriev gewonnenen Erkenntnisse integriert, vertieft und kritisch hinterfragt. Auskünfte zur russischen Geschichte sowie die Erläuterung landestypischer Begriffe erleichtern das Verständnis der Dmitrievschen Positionen. Es zeigt sich, dass Dmitriev allen gesundheitlichen und materiellen Widrigkeiten zum Trotz eine beachtliche wissenschaftliche Leistung vollbrachte: Er gelangte zu Erkenntnissen, die seiner Zeit um Jahrzehnte voraus waren und deren Relevanz bis in die Gegenwart reicht. Nicht nur trug er zu einem verbesserten Verständnis der klassischen Theorie bei und nahm damit einige Elemente der Forschung in den 1950/60er Jahren vorweg, Pionierleistungen erbrachte er ebenfalls für die Input-Output-Analyse sowie auf dem Gebiet der unvollkommenen Konkurrenz. (Version bis auf persönliche Daten identisch mit Vorgängerversion, siehe Dokumente und Dateien.)

Intensive Care Units (ICUs) host patients in critical condition who are being monitored by sensors which measure their vital signs. These vital signs carry information about a patient’s physiology and can have a very rich structure at fine resolution levels. The task of analysing these biosignals for the purposes of monitoring a patient’s physiology is referred to as physiological condition monitoring. Physiological condition monitoring of patients in ICUs is of critical importance as their health is subject to a number of events of interest. For the purposes of this thesis, the overall task of physiological condition monitoring is decomposed into the sub-tasks of modelling a patient’s physiology a) under the effect of physiological or artifactual events and b) under the effect of drug administration. The first sub-task is concerned with modelling artifact (such as the taking of blood samples, suction events etc.), and physiological episodes (such as bradycardia), while the second sub-task is focussed on modelling the effect of drug administration on a patient’s physiology. The first contribution of this thesis is the formulation, development and validation of the Discriminative Switching Linear Dynamical System (DSLDS) for the first sub-task. The DSLDS is a discriminative model which identifies the state-of-health of a patient given their observed vital signs using a discriminative probabilistic classifier, and then infers their underlying physiological values conditioned on this status. It is demonstrated on two real-world datasets that the DSLDS is able to outperform an alternative, generative approach in most cases of interest, and that an a-mixture of the two models achieves higher performance than either of the two models separately. The second contribution of this thesis is the formulation, development and validation of the Input-Output Non-Linear Dynamical System (IO-NLDS) for the second sub-task. The IO-NLDS is a non-linear dynamical system for modelling the effect of drug infusions on the vital signs of patients. More specifically, in this thesis the focus is on modelling the effect of the widely used anaesthetic drug Propofol on a patient’s monitored depth of anaesthesia and haemodynamics. A comparison of the IO-NLDS with a model derived from the Pharmacokinetics/Pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) literature on a real-world dataset shows that significant improvements in predictive performance can be provided without requiring the incorporation of expert physiological knowledge.

O objetivo desta dissertação foi avaliar a estrutura e as potencialidades da indústria moveleira do Município de Boa Vista (Roraima). Para a obtenção dos dados, foram aplicados questionários a empresas filiadas ao Sindicato das Indústrias de Marcenaria do Estado de Roraima – SINDIMAR; de um total de 19 empresas, 15 responderam aos questionários, representando 78,9% da amostra. Procurou-se levantar dados de forma simplificada, mas que retratassem a real situação do setor. Além desses dados, se obteve outros de fontes secundárias e de estudos empíricos anteriores sobre o setor, além daqueles fornecidos por instituições como SEBRAE. A idéia foi efetuar sugestões visando o aumento da competitividade do setor, através de melhorias nas matérias-primas, mão-de-obra, tecnologia e design, para agregar maior valor ao produto final. A revisão da literatura focou a teoria da localização, a teoria dos pólos de crescimento e a teoria do desenvolvimento local endógeno, centrada no papel das inovações e dos atores locais. Ao visitar as empresas, procurou-se detectar suas deficiências e potencialidades. Com o diagnóstico da situação atual do setor, se identificou os fatores de seu sucesso e os que vêm dificultando o seu avanço, com o objetivo de motivar os empresários a investir nessa atividade. Constatou-se que a matéria-prima utilizada é oriunda de outros municípios do Estado de Roraima e que cerca de 80% da produção é destinado ao próprio Município de Boa Vista, enquanto que os outros 20% destina-se a outros municípios do Estado. Concluiu-se que o setor moveleiro de Boa Vista necessita de muitas melhorias, tanto no plano tecnológico, com máquinas mais modernas, como do ponto de vista de gestão e logística. As principais dificuldades enfrentadas pelo setor são a carência de mão-de-obra qualificada, a falta de capital de giro para investir em equipamentos apropriados, já que a produção é feita na maior parte de forma semi-artesanal, entre outros fatores. Nesse sentido, o setor necessita de mais apoio de órgãos oficiais de assistência e de crédito, a fim de promover o desenvolvimento do setor, independentemente do porte das empresas. / The objective of this study was to evaluate the structure and the potential of the furniture industry of the City of Boa Vista (Roraima). To attain the data, member companies of the Union of the Woodwork and Furniture Industries of the State of Roraima - SINDIMAR were given questionnaires; of a total of 19 companies, 15 answered and returned the questionnaires, representing 78.9% of the sample. The objective was to get data in a simplified form, but which portrayed the real situation of the sector. Besides the data obtained from the questionnaires, other secondary sources and previous empirical studies on the sector, was used as well as the data supplied by institutions such as SEBRAE. The idea was to effect suggestions aiming at the increase of the competitiveness of the sector, through improvements in the raw materials, man power and workmanship, technology and design, to add greater value to the final product. The revision of literature focused on the theory of the location, the theory of the growth in industrial poles and the theory of the endogenous local development, centered on the role of innovation and local actors. When visiting the companies, researchers sought to detect their deficiencies and potentialities. With the diagnosis of the current situation of the sector, the factors of success and the impairments that make it difficult to advance were identified, with the objective of motivating entrepreneurs to invest in this activity. Evidence shows that the raw material used is sourced from other cities within the State of Roraima and that about 80% of the production is destined to the very City of Boa Vista, while the other 20% goes to the other cities of the State. It was concluded that the woodwork and furniture sector of Boa Vista is in great need of improvement, as much in the technological field, with more modern machines, as in the area of logistic and management. The main difficulties faced by the sector are the lack of qualified labor, the lack of capital to invest in appropriate equipment, since the production is done for the most part on a half-artisan basis. With this in consideration, the sector needs more support from official agencies of assistance and credit, in order to promote the development of the sector, independent of the size of the companies.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Water is a major input used directly and indirectly by the different sectors of the economy to produce goods and services. The use of this resource as a productive input is known as virtual water. This concept was developed by Allan (1993) and it refers to the water that is embedded or embodied in the production of agricultural commodities and industrial goods. The aim of this study is to apply an environmental input-output model to analyze water use in the Brazilian economy as well as to quantify the virtual water content in Brazil's imports and exports. The results indicate that Agriculture is an important key-sector, since, through the analysis of the matrix of coefficients transaction, it is possible to verify that it does mostly push the indirect water consumption of the majority of sectors. As for international trade of water resources, it comes out that Brazil is a net exporter of virtual water and that the largest share of exports is carried out by Food and Beverages sector and by Agriculture. Results suggest that Brazil is a virtual water net exporter, and most of the exports are made by Food and Beverage industries and Agriculture. These results reinforce the need to consider environmental costs that are inherent to trade goods in the use of water resources and a better management of water under scarcity conditions. / A água é um insumo importantíssimo utilizado direta e indiretamente pelos diferentes setores da economia na produção de bens e serviços. Ao uso desse recurso como insumo produtivo dá-se o nome de água virtual. Esse conceito foi desenvolvido por Allan (1993) e se refere a água que é embutida ou incorporada na produção de commodities agropecuárias e produtos industriais. O objetivo desse estudo é aplicar o método insumo-produto ambiental para analisar o uso da água na economia brasileira e mensurar o conteúdo de água virtual importado e exportado pelo Brasil. Os resultados indicam que a Agricultura é um importante setor-chave, já que, através da análise da matriz de coeficientes de transação, é possível verificar que o consumo indireto de água da maior parte dos setores é impulsionado principalmente pela agricultura. Em relação ao comércio internacional de recursos hídricos, tem-se que o Brasil é um exportador líquido de água virtual, sendo a maioria das exportações realizadas pelos setores de Alimentos e Bebidas e da Agricultura. Esses resultados reforçam a necessidade de considerar os custos ambientais intrínsecos ao comércio de bens intensivos no uso de recursos hídricos e o melhor gerenciamento da água em condições de escassez.

O objetivo desta dissertação foi avaliar a estrutura e as potencialidades da indústria moveleira do Município de Boa Vista (Roraima). Para a obtenção dos dados, foram aplicados questionários a empresas filiadas ao Sindicato das Indústrias de Marcenaria do Estado de Roraima – SINDIMAR; de um total de 19 empresas, 15 responderam aos questionários, representando 78,9% da amostra. Procurou-se levantar dados de forma simplificada, mas que retratassem a real situação do setor. Além desses dados, se obteve outros de fontes secundárias e de estudos empíricos anteriores sobre o setor, além daqueles fornecidos por instituições como SEBRAE. A idéia foi efetuar sugestões visando o aumento da competitividade do setor, através de melhorias nas matérias-primas, mão-de-obra, tecnologia e design, para agregar maior valor ao produto final. A revisão da literatura focou a teoria da localização, a teoria dos pólos de crescimento e a teoria do desenvolvimento local endógeno, centrada no papel das inovações e dos atores locais. Ao visitar as empresas, procurou-se detectar suas deficiências e potencialidades. Com o diagnóstico da situação atual do setor, se identificou os fatores de seu sucesso e os que vêm dificultando o seu avanço, com o objetivo de motivar os empresários a investir nessa atividade. Constatou-se que a matéria-prima utilizada é oriunda de outros municípios do Estado de Roraima e que cerca de 80% da produção é destinado ao próprio Município de Boa Vista, enquanto que os outros 20% destina-se a outros municípios do Estado. Concluiu-se que o setor moveleiro de Boa Vista necessita de muitas melhorias, tanto no plano tecnológico, com máquinas mais modernas, como do ponto de vista de gestão e logística. As principais dificuldades enfrentadas pelo setor são a carência de mão-de-obra qualificada, a falta de capital de giro para investir em equipamentos apropriados, já que a produção é feita na maior parte de forma semi-artesanal, entre outros fatores. Nesse sentido, o setor necessita de mais apoio de órgãos oficiais de assistência e de crédito, a fim de promover o desenvolvimento do setor, independentemente do porte das empresas. / The objective of this study was to evaluate the structure and the potential of the furniture industry of the City of Boa Vista (Roraima). To attain the data, member companies of the Union of the Woodwork and Furniture Industries of the State of Roraima - SINDIMAR were given questionnaires; of a total of 19 companies, 15 answered and returned the questionnaires, representing 78.9% of the sample. The objective was to get data in a simplified form, but which portrayed the real situation of the sector. Besides the data obtained from the questionnaires, other secondary sources and previous empirical studies on the sector, was used as well as the data supplied by institutions such as SEBRAE. The idea was to effect suggestions aiming at the increase of the competitiveness of the sector, through improvements in the raw materials, man power and workmanship, technology and design, to add greater value to the final product. The revision of literature focused on the theory of the location, the theory of the growth in industrial poles and the theory of the endogenous local development, centered on the role of innovation and local actors. When visiting the companies, researchers sought to detect their deficiencies and potentialities. With the diagnosis of the current situation of the sector, the factors of success and the impairments that make it difficult to advance were identified, with the objective of motivating entrepreneurs to invest in this activity. Evidence shows that the raw material used is sourced from other cities within the State of Roraima and that about 80% of the production is destined to the very City of Boa Vista, while the other 20% goes to the other cities of the State. It was concluded that the woodwork and furniture sector of Boa Vista is in great need of improvement, as much in the technological field, with more modern machines, as in the area of logistic and management. The main difficulties faced by the sector are the lack of qualified labor, the lack of capital to invest in appropriate equipment, since the production is done for the most part on a half-artisan basis. With this in consideration, the sector needs more support from official agencies of assistance and credit, in order to promote the development of the sector, independent of the size of the companies.