Thesis (M. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2006 / A multi-threaded, multi-agent image recognition software application called RecMaster has been developed specifically for the purpose of quality control in a production environment. This entails using the system as a monitor to identify invalid objects moving on a conveyor belt and to pass on the relevant information to an attached device, such as a robotic arm, which will remove the invalid object. The main purpose of developing this system was to prove that a desktop computer could run an image recognition system efficiently, without the need for high-end, high-cost, specialised computer hardware. The programme operates by assigning each agent a task in the recognition process and then waiting for resources to become available. Tasks related to edge detection, colour inversion, image binarisation and perimeter determination were assigned to individual agents. Each agent is loaded onto its own processing thread, with some of the agents delegating their subtasks to other processing threads. This enables the application to utilise the available system resources more efficiently. The application is very limited in its scope, as it requires a uniform image background as well as little to no variance in camera zoom levels and object to lens distance. This study focused solely on the development of the application software, and not on the setting up of the actual imaging hardware. The imaging device, on which the system was tested, was a web cam capable of a 640 x 480 resolution. As such, all image capture and processing was done on images with a horizontal resolution of 640 pixels and a vertical resolution of 480 pixels, so as not to distort image quality. The application locates objects on an image feed - which can be in the format of a still image, a video file or a camera feed - and compares these objects to a model of the object that was created previously. The coordinates of the object are calculated and translated into coordinates on the conveyor system. These coordinates are then passed on to an external recipient, such as a robotic arm, via a serial link. The system has been applied to the model of a DVD, and tested against a variety of similar and dissimilar objects to determine its accuracy. The tests were run on both an AMD- and Intel-based desktop computer system, with the results indicating that both systems are capable of efficiently running the application. On average, the AMD-based system tended to be 81% faster at matching objects in still images, and 100% faster at matching objects in moving images. The system made matches within an average time frame of 250 ms, making the process fast enough to be used on an actual conveyor system. On still images, the results showed an 87% success rate for the AMD-based system, and 73% for Intel. For moving images, however, both systems showed a 100% success rate.

The aim of this study was to determine the quality of slaughtered ostrich meat and to evaluate the ostrich slaughter process, to determine whether ostrich meat are contaminated by the in-house slaughtering practices and if prevalence of microorganisms increase with the succession of the slaughter process. Furthermore, the presence of specific foodborne pathogens and spoilage organisms was explored by means of molecular and conventional methods to determine whether ostrich meat is a source of these microorganisms. Data obtained from this study provides some baseline information that could be used in future studies on system contamination and the extent of downstream processing steps in the production of ostrich meat. Antimicrobial resistance has become a growing area of concern in both human and veterinary medicine, it is therefore necessary that another aim of this study was to determine the antibiotic resistant pattern of Staphylococcus aureus in ostrich meat in order to establish whether Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from ostrich meat samples show resistance to antibiotics

The aim of this study was to determine the quality of slaughtered ostrich meat and to evaluate the ostrich slaughter process, to determine whether ostrich meat are contaminated by the in-house slaughtering practices and if prevalence of microorganisms increase with the succession of the slaughter process. Furthermore, the presence of specific foodborne pathogens and spoilage organisms was explored by means of molecular and conventional methods to determine whether ostrich meat is a source of these microorganisms. Data obtained from this study provides some baseline information that could be used in future studies on system contamination and the extent of downstream processing steps in the production of ostrich meat. Antimicrobial resistance has become a growing area of concern in both human and veterinary medicine, it is therefore necessary that another aim of this study was to determine the antibiotic resistant pattern of Staphylococcus aureus in ostrich meat in order to establish whether Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from ostrich meat samples show resistance to antibiotics

Mémoire (M.P.M.O.)-- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1992. / BIbliogr.: f. [106]-113. Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

nÃo hà / Com a contÃnua transformaÃÃo e uso crescente das tecnologias na sociedade, hà uma necessidade de melhor nomeÃ-las. A expressÃo âTecnologias EletrÃnicas e Digitais de InformaÃÃo e de ComunicaÃÃoâ faz uma representaÃÃo mais adequada destas tecnologias modernas. As bibliotecas universitÃrias tambÃm fazem uso dessas tecnologias, porÃm para melhor atender seus usuÃrios, à necessÃrio que essas tecnologias sejam avaliadas adequadamente. O governo brasileiro, atravÃs da ComissÃo Nacional de AvaliaÃÃo da EducaÃÃo Superior (CONAES) em uma das suas atribuiÃÃes, orienta os critÃrios avaliativos para a educaÃÃo superior, na qual as bibliotecas universitÃrias estÃo inseridas. O objetivo desta pesquisa à avaliar o uso das Tecnologias EletrÃnicas e Digitais de InformaÃÃo e de ComunicaÃÃo na oferta de produtos e serviÃos à comunidade acadÃmica da Universidade Federal do CearÃ, fazendo um paralelo com os critÃrios avaliativos da CONAES no Ãmbito das bibliotecas universitÃrias. O estudo empÃrico foi realizado por meio de um questionÃrio eletrÃnico aplicado junto à amostra de 380 sujeitos pertencentes à comunidade acadÃmica da UFC. Na avaliaÃÃo, com base na metodologia Servqual, foram observadas as percepÃÃes e expectativas da comunidade acadÃmica sobre o uso dessas tecnologias para acessar os produtos e serviÃos oferecidos pelas bibliotecas da universidade. Os resultados obtidos na anÃlise de dados indicam que treinamentos de forma contÃnua e frequente poderÃo trazer melhorias na avaliaÃÃo dos usuÃrios sobre os produtos e serviÃos no uso das Tecnologias EletrÃnicas e Digitais de InformaÃÃo e de ComunicaÃÃo ofertados nas bibliotecas da UFC. Fundamentado nos resultados foram feitas recomendaÃÃes e sugestÃes para pesquisas futuras. / With the continuous transformation and increasing use of technology in society, there is a need for better name them. The term "Digital Technologies and Electronic Information and Communication" makes a better representation of these modern technologies. The university libraries also make use of these technologies, but to serve its users in a better way it is necessary to evaluate these technologies. The Brazilian government, through the National Commission for Higher Education Evaluation (CONAES), in one of his assignments, guides evaluative criteria for higher education, in which university libraries are located. The objective of this research is to evaluate the use of Electronic Technologies and Digital Information and Communication in the supply of products and services to the academic community of Universidade Federal do CearÃ, drawing a parallel with the assessment criteria of CONAES within the university libraries. The empirical study was conducted via an online questionnaire applied by the sample of 380 subjects belonging to the academic community of UFC. The evaluation based on the SERVQUAL methodology showed the perceptions and expectations of the academic community about the use of these technologies to access the products and services offered by the university libraries. The results of the data analysis indicate that training often and continuously can deal to a bring improvements in users' evaluation of the products and services in the use of Electronic Technologies and Digital Information and Communication offered in the libraries of UFC. Relying on the results recommendations and suggestions were made for future research.

Orientadores: Vivaldo Silveira Junior, Vania Regina Nicoletti Telis / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-04T02:29:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Nicoleti_JOelFernando_D.pdf: 2741270 bytes, checksum: e775a2cef2f7d3227d61a805baca7438 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Doutorado / Engenharia de Alimentos / Doutor em Engenharia de Alimentos

Magister Scientiae - MSc / The aim of this study was to determine the quality of slaughtered ostrich meat and to evaluate the ostrich slaughter process, to determine whether ostrich meat are contaminated by the in-house slaughtering practices and if prevalence of microorganisms increase with the succession of the slaughter process. Furthermore, the presence of specific foodborne pathogens and spoilage organisms was explored by means of molecular and conventional methods to determine whether ostrich meat is a source of these microorganisms. Data obtained from this study provides some baseline information that could be used in future studies on system contamination and the extent of downstream processing steps in the production of ostrich meat. Antimicrobial resistance has become a growing area of concern in both human and veterinary medicine, it is therefore necessary that another aim of this study was to determine the antibiotic resistant pattern of Staphylococcus aureus in ostrich meat in order to establish whether Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from ostrich meat samples show resistance to antibiotics. / South Africa

Thesis (M.S.)--James Madison University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

The dissertation has three main chapters on product quality innovation. First, we compare innovation effort and social welfare between monopoly, duopoly, and the social planner in a dynamic model with quality dependent on a continuous know-how stock. The technology frontier--the largest reachable know-how socks--does not always positively depend on competitiveness, i.e. a duopoly may technologically surpass the social planner. However, social welfare is always positively tied to competitiveness. Second, with a general equilibrium model, we derive a relative price function expressing productivity and quality effects, and develop a method for inferring relative quality changes. An application to services versus goods of the US from 1946-2006 provides evidence on aggregate quality changes and suggests us to incorporate quality variations when explaining relative prices. Third, we build a two-product model where productivity changes lead to reallocations of labor between quantity production and quality innovation. The correlation between relative productivity and relative quality is negative for low-range substitutability and positive for medium-range substitutability between two products. Looking at services versus goods of the US, the correlation is negative and productivity-driven quality can play a significant role in general quality development.

This dissertation consists of three independent essays. We briefly introduce these essays in chapter 1 and leave a comprehensive introduction to each essay. Chapter 2 considers a vertically separated industry where production takes time and vertical mergers shorten production time. We investigate the impact of vertical mergers on the downstream firms' ability to collude and show that vertical mergers facilitate downstream collusion. Chapter 3 provides a theoretical foundation for a puzzling empirical observation that advertising follows an inverted U shape for some new products. Chapter 4 analyzes an incumbent's response to a competitive entry. We show that if the quality of the entrant is uncertain, the incumbent can "jam" the quality signalling of the entrant. Finally, chapter 5 summarizes main conclusions of three essays. / text