This study illustrates the use of ACNielsen Homescan Panel (HSD) in three separate demand analyses of dairy products: (1) the effect of using cross-sectional data in a New Empirical Industrial Organization (NEIO) study of ice cream firm mergers in San Antonio; (2) the estimation of hedonic price models for fluid milk by quart, halfgallon and gallon container sizes; (3) the estimation of a demand system including white milk, flavored milk, carbonated soft drinks, bottled water, and fruit juice by various container sizes. In the NEIO study a standard LA/AIDS demand system was used to estimate elasticities evaluating seven simulated mergers of ice cream manufactures in San Antonio in 1999. Unlike previously published NEIO work, it is the first to use crosssectional data to address the issue associated with inventory effects. Using the method developed by Capps, Church and Love, none of the simulated price effects associated with the mergers was statistically different from zero at the 5% confidence level. In 1995 Nerlove proposed a quantity-dependent hedonic model as a viable alternative to the conventional price-dependent hedonic model as a means to ascertain consumer willingness to pay for the characteristics of a given good. We revisited Nerlove’s work validating his model using transactional data indigenous to the HSD. Hedonic models, both price-dependent and quantity-dependent, were estimated for the characteristics of fat content, container type, and brand designation for the container sizes of gallon, half- gallon, and quart. A rigorous explanation of the interpretation between the estimates derived from the two hedonic models was discussed. Using the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS), a matrix of own-price, crossprice, and expenditure elasticities was estimated involving various container sizes of white milk, flavored milk, carbonated soft drinks, bottled water, and fruit juices, using a cross-section of the 1999 HSD. We described price imputations and the handling of censored observations to develop the respective elasticities. These elasticities provided information about intra-product relationships (same product but different sizes), intrasize relationships (different products same container size), and inter-product relationships (different products and different sizes). This container size issue is unique in the extant literature associated with non-alcoholic beverage industry.

Using household level scanner data for 2006, 2007, and 2008, this dissertation consists of four studies, which present household- and market-level analyses of food safety issues concerning the 2007 Peter Pan recall on the demand for peanut butter at the category level and at the brand level. Findings of the first study suggested that the recall had a statistically significant positive effect on the demand for peanut butter at the category level. At the brand level, spillover effects were evident in that the demand for Jif was positively affected, while the demand for Skippy was negatively affected. The second study examined structural change in the demand for peanut butter using demand system models corresponding to the pre-recall and the post-recall periods. Matrices of own-price, cross-price, and expenditure elasticities were calculated for both recall periods, and upon comparison, there were statistical differences in the corresponding estimated elasticities. In general, most price elasticities in the post-recall period were larger in absolute value than the comparable elasticities in the pre-recall period. The third study investigated the impact of household socio-economic characteristics associated with choices to purchase peanut butter across the pre- and the post-recall periods. Four choice scenarios were no buy-no buy, buy-no buy, no buy-buy, and buy-buy. Socio-economic characteristics considered included age, employment, education, race, ethnicity, presence of male and/or female household head, region, age and presence of children in the household, household size, and income. While the results varied by brand, region was the socio-demographic characteristic that was consistently significant among the choice scenarios for the respective peanut butter brands. Conditional on households purchasing peanut butter in both the pre- and the post-recall periods, the final analysis examined the influence of the same aforementioned socio-economic variables as well as the change in the own price on the change in the quantity purchased. The results varied across brands, but the principal drivers of the conditional change in the quantity purchased were the change in the own price and the age and presence of children in the household.

The flatbed scanner method for air void analysis of concrete is investigated through a comparison study with the standard ASTM C457 manual and Rapid Air 457 test methods. Air void parameters including air content and spacing factor are determined by image analysis of a large population of scanned samples through contrast enhancement and threshold determination procedures. It is shown that flatbed scanner method is giving comparable results to manual and Rapid Air 457 methods. Furthermore, a comparison of the air void chord length distributions obtained from the two methods of flatbed scanner and Rapid Air 457 has been implemented in this research. The effect of having different settings in the scanning process of scanner method is also investigated. Moreover, a threshold study has been performed that showed the flatbed scanner method can be employed in combination with manual and Rapid Air 457 methods as a time and cost saving strategy.

The flatbed scanner method for air void analysis of concrete is investigated through a comparison study with the standard ASTM C457 manual and Rapid Air 457 test methods. Air void parameters including air content and spacing factor are determined by image analysis of a large population of scanned samples through contrast enhancement and threshold determination procedures. It is shown that flatbed scanner method is giving comparable results to manual and Rapid Air 457 methods. Furthermore, a comparison of the air void chord length distributions obtained from the two methods of flatbed scanner and Rapid Air 457 has been implemented in this research. The effect of having different settings in the scanning process of scanner method is also investigated. Moreover, a threshold study has been performed that showed the flatbed scanner method can be employed in combination with manual and Rapid Air 457 methods as a time and cost saving strategy.

Zugl.: Freiburg (Breisgau), Univ., Diss., 2009

Zugl.: Zürich, Techn. Hochsch., Diss., 2009

Techn. Hochsch., Diss., 2004--Aachen.

This thesis describes the modeling and manufacture of bimorph mirrors as well as an example of their application. A general review of adaptive optics is provided, paying particular attention to those technologies which would allow adaptive optics to be employed in non-astronomical situations. The first stage of the theoretical analysis of the bimorph mirror involves developing a mechanical model of the laminated structure. This is carried out using standard thin plate laminate theory; this results in expressions for the overall sensitivity of a bimorph mirror. The mechanical model also leads to an equation describing the response of the surface of the mirror to a given applied voltage. An analytical solution is developed, and its implementation described. Using this analytical solution, the performance of a bimorph mirror under various operating conditions is analysed. Particular attention is paid to the case of correcting phase fluctuations that have a Kolmogorov spectrum. The process of manufacturing bimorph mirrors is described in some detail, and results of this procedure are presented. Results from various bimorph mirrors are analysed, and the comparisons with the theory are presented. A possible use of bimorph mirrors in laser scanner systems is described. A simple demonstration system is described, and results from its operation are presented. A detailed design for a laser printer using adaptive optics is presented, along with the associated deformable mirror requirements.

Submitted by Amanda Silva (amanda.osilva2@ufpe.br) on 2015-03-05T15:17:55Z No. of bitstreams: 2 DISSERTAÇÃO Mirele Viegas da Silva.pdf: 7784954 bytes, checksum: 56193e4339b0daaaa3548129ff171819 (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-05T15:17:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 DISSERTAÇÃO Mirele Viegas da Silva.pdf: 7784954 bytes, checksum: 56193e4339b0daaaa3548129ff171819 (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-06-04 / O laser scanner aerotransportado, ALS (Airborne Laser Scanner), também conhecido como LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), consiste atualmente numa das tecnologias mais utilizadas para a aquisição de enormes volumes de dados num curto período de tempo. Essa tecnologia envolve a emissão de um pulso eletromagnético em direção à superfície tendo como produto as coordenadas plani-altimétricas e a intensidade do feixe refletido pelo objeto atingido. A posição tridimensional somente pode ser calculada, se em qualquer momento, a posição e orientação do sistema de laser se façam conhecidos com respeito a um sistema de coordenadas, isso é possível devido ao fato que o sistema dispõe de GPS (Global Positioning System)/GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) e INS (Inertial Navigation System), auxiliando diretamente no georreferenciamento das imagens e nuvens de pontos adquiridas. O conjunto de dados do laser scanner é uma alternativa poderosa para ser aplicado na otimização de técnicas de mapeamento fotogramétrico, permitindo um ótimo desempenho para extrair informação espacial tridimensional. A imagem fotogramétrica permite, por sua vez, a extração exata de feições planimétricas. Este trabalho descreve uma metodologia para avaliar feições planimétricas em áreas urbanas obtidas com a tecnologia laser scanner aerotransportado tendo, como objetivo, estudar a qualidade posicional planimétrica das feições pontuais em imagens provenientes do laser scanner (imagens de intensidade), através da comparação da saída de dados deste com os dados provenientes do método fotogramétrico aéreo e topográfico. Na presente pesquisa, foi concentrada a detecção principalmente de feições planimétricas de telhados e arruamentos. O método de avaliação da acurácia foi baseado na análise de pontos e medidas de feições lineares obtidas com imagens de intensidade do sistema laser scanner comparadas com medidas obtidas em levantamento GNSS e restituição fotogramétrica de duas áreas localizada no Campus da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco e no bairro da Macaxeira, município de Recife/PE, avaliando de acordo com o Padrão de Exatidão Cartográfico para Produtos Cartográficos Digitais – PEC PCD.

This study was conducted to determine whether or not combining feedback modes resulted in improved operator performance, given a specific task and environment. A common industrial handheld scanner with multiple feedback settings was used to assess four experimental feedback conditions (auditory, auditory-visual, auditory-tactile, and auditory-visual-tactile) during simulated box scanning tasks. Participants completed four-50 box trials in a single test session where boxes were scanned and located based on the feedback provided regarding the scan. Task completion time and ranks, hit rate and false alarms were recorded. While the auditory-visual-tactile feedback combination produced the fastest performance time, there was no statistically significant improvement in operator performance between the four feedback settings tested. By understanding the most important feedback modes, or combination of such, identification of the best scanner settings for this device and task can be made.