Horizontal scanning instruments, such as, atomic force microscopes and scanning laser microscopes, acquire three-dimensional topographic maps of surfaces, at scales ranging from tenths of nanometers to hundreds of millimeters, by measuring elevations along a series of traces scanning a region of the surface. Random and systematic errors may influence parameters calculated from these topographic maps. This work investigates anisotropic artifacts in atomic force microscope and a scanning laser microscope measurements by looking at difference between parameters calculated in the tracing and scanning directions. It is found that horizontal scanning profiling instruments systematically introduce anisotropic measurement artifacts when measuring both isotropic and anisotropic surfaces.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1980. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Includes bibliographcial references. / by Helen Louise Graham. / M.S.

With the growing trend in use of 3D laser scanning technology for data collection, it is important to study the various potential applications of this revolutionary technology. One such application is the measurement of road roughness at both large and small scales. At larger extents, terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is compared to several current techniques to measure road profiles including digital levels, inclinometers, and inertial profilers. An overall indicator of roughness (e.g. International Roughness Index, IRI) can be obtained from these road profiles and is used by state DOTs to determine the pavement quality. Since TLS is able to collect a large, dense set of data relatively quickly, this technology could provide states with an additional tool to both measure pavement roughness and collect data for the entire roadway. TLS has the added benefit of being able to generate multiple profiles across the roadway efficiently. At a fine scale, micron resolution 3D laser scanners can be utilized to determine the influence of asphalt mix designs on the roughness of the pavement. Of particular interest is the selection of predominant aggregate size within the mix. Results showed that TLS can determine pavement profiles and comparable IRI results to those from current methods. The elevation values collected within the profile were accurate within expected ranges. However, cross correlations, which take into account the location of the roughness, were poor, indicating that TLS is not an effective method to determine a reference profile. TLS was used to determine the cross slopes across the roadway, something that cannot be done with data from an inclinometer or inertial profiler. / Graduation date: 2012 / Zipped file contains 4 file types. Excel files (.xlsx and .xls) can be opened using Microsoft Excel. OBJ files (.obj) are geometry definition file formats intended to be imported into a software program to manipulate 3D laser scans and can also be opened using Notepad++ or another powerful text editor. Notepad++ is freely available for download on the Web. PVP files (.pvp) are project files that contain project settings and profile data and can be opened with ProVAL, a freely available engineering software application used to view and analyze roadway profiles. ERD files (.ERD) are standard file formats used for storing numbers in tabular form and can be opened with Notepad++ or another powerful text editor. These files contain roadway profiles and are designed to be imported into ProVAL.

The care of individuals with concerns about development, health, and wellness is often a difficult, complicated task and may rely on a team of diverse caregivers. There are many decisions that caregivers must make to help ensure that the best care and health monitoring are administered. For my dissertation work, I have explored the use of embedded capture and access to support decision-making for caregivers. Embedded capture and access integrates simple and unobtrusive capture and useful access, including trending information and rich data, into existing work practices. I hypothesized that this technology encourages more frequent access to evidence, increased collaboration amongst caregivers, and decisions made with higher confidence. I have explored this technology through real world deployments of new embedded capture and access applications in two domains. For the first domain, I have developed two applications to support decision-making for caregivers administering therapy to children with autism. The first application, Abaris, supports therapists working with a single child in a home setting, and the second application, Abaris for Schools, extends the ideas of Abaris for use in a school setting for many teachers working with multiple children. The second domain I have explored is decision-making for parents of newborn children. In particular, I developed and evaluated embedded capture and access technology to support parents, pediatricians, and secondary childcare providers in making decisions about whether a child s development is progressing normally in order to promote the earlier detection of developmental delays.

Thesis (M.Info.Tech.)--University of Wollongong, 2005. / Includes appendices. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 100-105.

M. Tech. Business Informatics / Addresses the adoption of emerging technology through blended learning. In the study, the Department of Home Affairs has just adopted a new traveler processing system. To use this emerging technology, employees had to be trained, and blended learning was seen as an appropriate training style. The emerging technology, the new passport scanning readers, posed challenges that are unpacked in this mini-dissertation.

This thesis explores whether scanner data can be used to inform Consumer Price Index (CPI) construction, with particular reference to the issues of substitution bias and choice of aggregation dimensions. The potential costs and benefits of using scanner data are reviewed. Existing estimates of substitution bias are found to show considerable variation. An Australian scanner data set is used to estimate substitution bias for six different aggregation methods and for fixed base and superlative indexes. Direct and chained indexes are also calculated. Estimates of substitution bias are found to be highly sensitive to both the method of aggregation used and whether direct or chained indexes were used. The ILO (2004) recommends the use of dissimilarity indexes to determine the issue of when to chain. This thesis provides the first empirical study of dissimilarity indexes in this context. The results indicate that dissimilarity indexes may not be sufficient to resolve the issue. A Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) index provides an approximate estimate of substitution-bias-free price change, without the need for current period expenditure weights. However, an elasticity parameter is needed. Two methods, referred to as the algebraic and econometric methods, were used to estimate the elasticity parameter. The econometric approach involved the estimation of a system of equations proposed by Diewert (2002a). This system has not been estimated previously. The results show a relatively high level of substitution at the elementary aggregate level, which supports the use a Jevons index, rather than Carli or Dutot indexes, at this level. Elasticity parameter estimates were found to vary considerably across time, and statistical testing showed that elasticity parameter estimates were significantly different across estimation methods. Aggregation is an extremely important issue in the compilation of the CPI. However, little information exists about 'appropriate' aggregation methods. Aggregation is typically recommended over 'homogenous' units. An hedonic framework is used to test for item homogeneity across four supermarket chains and across all stores within each chain. This is a novel approach. The results show that treating the same good as homogenous across stores which belong to the same chain may be recommended.

This thesis explores whether scanner data can be used to inform Consumer Price Index (CPI) construction, with particular reference to the issues of substitution bias and choice of aggregation dimensions. The potential costs and benefits of using scanner data are reviewed. Existing estimates of substitution bias are found to show considerable variation. An Australian scanner data set is used to estimate substitution bias for six different aggregation methods and for fixed base and superlative indexes. Direct and chained indexes are also calculated. Estimates of substitution bias are found to be highly sensitive to both the method of aggregation used and whether direct or chained indexes were used. The ILO (2004) recommends the use of dissimilarity indexes to determine the issue of when to chain. This thesis provides the first empirical study of dissimilarity indexes in this context. The results indicate that dissimilarity indexes may not be sufficient to resolve the issue. A Constant Elasticity of Substitution (CES) index provides an approximate estimate of substitution-bias-free price change, without the need for current period expenditure weights. However, an elasticity parameter is needed. Two methods, referred to as the algebraic and econometric methods, were used to estimate the elasticity parameter. The econometric approach involved the estimation of a system of equations proposed by Diewert (2002a). This system has not been estimated previously. The results show a relatively high level of substitution at the elementary aggregate level, which supports the use a Jevons index, rather than Carli or Dutot indexes, at this level. Elasticity parameter estimates were found to vary considerably across time, and statistical testing showed that elasticity parameter estimates were significantly different across estimation methods. Aggregation is an extremely important issue in the compilation of the CPI. However, little information exists about 'appropriate' aggregation methods. Aggregation is typically recommended over 'homogenous' units. An hedonic framework is used to test for item homogeneity across four supermarket chains and across all stores within each chain. This is a novel approach. The results show that treating the same good as homogenous across stores which belong to the same chain may be recommended.

CNPq / O tratamento e cuidados com úlceras de pé diabético é uma questão de saúde pública. As técnicas atuais utilizadas para o acompanhamento do processo de cicatrização de úlceras abertas são baseadas principalmente em medidas aproximadas da área da ferida e envolvem contato direto, o que representa riscos de contaminação para o paciente. Neste trabalho é proposto o uso de técnicas de visão computacional para medir não apenas a área, mas o volume de úlceras abertas, fornecendo informação objetiva sobre o processo de cicatrização para os médicos, evitando contato direto com a ferida durante o procedimento de medição. A técnica proposta envolve a aquisição de uma sequência de imagens da ferida com iluminação estruturada usando um laser de baixa potência em linha, seguida de reconstrução da profundidade a partir da geometria do dispositivo de aquisição. É identificada a região da ferida de forma semiautomática e construída uma superfície fictícia do que seria a pele natural para servir de base para o cálculo do volume, que corresponde à quantidade de tecido faltante. Experimentos controlados ex-vivo utilizando um modelo de borracha de um Pé Diabético e um joelho de porco com uma ferida artificial representando a pele humana demonstram a viabilidade da técnica proposta. / Treatment and follow-up of Diabetic Foot ulcers is a major public health issue. Current techniques used for following up the healing process of open ulcers are mostly based on approximate area measurements of the wound and involve direct contact, which poses risks of contamination for the patient. This work proposes the use of computer vision techniques to measure not just the area, but the volume of open ulcers, providing additional objective information about the healing process to physicians while avoiding direct contact with the wound during the measurement procedure. The proposed technique involves acquiring a sequence of images of the wound with structured illumination using a low-power laser beam line, followed by depth reconstruction from the geometry of the acquisition device. The wound region is identified in a semi-automatic way and a fictitious surface of what would be the normal skin surface is then used to compute the volume, which corresponds to the missing amount of tissue. Controlled ex-vivo experiments using a rubber model of a Diabetic Foot and a knuckle of pork with an artificial wound representing the human skin demonstrate the viability of the proposed technique. / 5000

CNPq / O tratamento e cuidados com úlceras de pé diabético é uma questão de saúde pública. As técnicas atuais utilizadas para o acompanhamento do processo de cicatrização de úlceras abertas são baseadas principalmente em medidas aproximadas da área da ferida e envolvem contato direto, o que representa riscos de contaminação para o paciente. Neste trabalho é proposto o uso de técnicas de visão computacional para medir não apenas a área, mas o volume de úlceras abertas, fornecendo informação objetiva sobre o processo de cicatrização para os médicos, evitando contato direto com a ferida durante o procedimento de medição. A técnica proposta envolve a aquisição de uma sequência de imagens da ferida com iluminação estruturada usando um laser de baixa potência em linha, seguida de reconstrução da profundidade a partir da geometria do dispositivo de aquisição. É identificada a região da ferida de forma semiautomática e construída uma superfície fictícia do que seria a pele natural para servir de base para o cálculo do volume, que corresponde à quantidade de tecido faltante. Experimentos controlados ex-vivo utilizando um modelo de borracha de um Pé Diabético e um joelho de porco com uma ferida artificial representando a pele humana demonstram a viabilidade da técnica proposta. / Treatment and follow-up of Diabetic Foot ulcers is a major public health issue. Current techniques used for following up the healing process of open ulcers are mostly based on approximate area measurements of the wound and involve direct contact, which poses risks of contamination for the patient. This work proposes the use of computer vision techniques to measure not just the area, but the volume of open ulcers, providing additional objective information about the healing process to physicians while avoiding direct contact with the wound during the measurement procedure. The proposed technique involves acquiring a sequence of images of the wound with structured illumination using a low-power laser beam line, followed by depth reconstruction from the geometry of the acquisition device. The wound region is identified in a semi-automatic way and a fictitious surface of what would be the normal skin surface is then used to compute the volume, which corresponds to the missing amount of tissue. Controlled ex-vivo experiments using a rubber model of a Diabetic Foot and a knuckle of pork with an artificial wound representing the human skin demonstrate the viability of the proposed technique. / 5000