An association was tested between the presence of a television weather broadcaster on-screen and viewers’ likelihood to seek shelter, measured via risk perception and preventative behavior. Social networking websites were used to recruit respondents. Four clips of archived severe weather videos, one pair (on-screen and off-screen broadcaster) using the reflectivity product and another pair (on-screen and off-screen broadcaster) using velocity product, were presented to participants. Viewers’ trust and weather salience were also quantified for additional interactions. A relationship between viewers’ risk perception (preflectivity = 0.821, pvelocity = 0.625) and preventative behavior (preflectivity = 0.217, pvelocity = 0.236) and the presence of the broadcaster on-screen was not found. The reflectivity product was associated with higher risk perception and preventative behavior scores than the velocity product (prp = 0.000, ppb = 0.000).

The project is an investigation how screen addiction therapy and Marine biological research can be combined, and how they can support each other. This is an institution for both screen addicts and biological researchers on endangered water species of the Baltic Sea. There are no digital screens here. The screens of this institution are the aquariums, and the therapeutical idea is based on the care and nursing of a non-human environment – The endangered species of the Baltic Sea.

<p>The study investigates the user experience of visually impaired people using screen readers, concentrating on their accessibility and usability when navigating digital content. Screen readers are indispensable instruments for the blind and visually impaired, facilitating the completion of online tasks and access to information. While screen readers offer benefits such as customization and accessibility, they also present users with challenges such as cognitive burden, sequential navigation, and limitations with multimedia content.</p><p>The research takes a user-centric approach, taking into account the particular requirements and preferences of visually impaired users. By conducting empirical research, the study gains valuable insights into the experiences, requirements, and pain points of screen reader users. The objective is to identify areas for enhancement and create solutions that enhance the user's efficiency and satisfaction.</p><p>Recognizing the diverse subcategories within the visually impaired population, the thesis argues for design approaches that are tailored to specific needs. In addition, the incorporation of existing artificial intelligence systems, such as image caption generation and text extraction, is investigated to improve the functionality and usability of screen readers.</p><p>Through this research, the thesis emphasizes the significance of creating digital content that is both functional and accessible. By embracing the curb cut effect and incorporating empirical research findings, developers can cultivate a more inclusive and equitable online environment for all users, thereby promoting inclusivity and ensuring that visually impaired users can effectively interact with digital content.</p>

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Estimating is a critical aspect of every construction project. The most tedious component of an estimate is the quantity takeoff. Different tools are available to improve an estimator's productivity for a quantity takeoff. Faster quantity takeoffs enable estimator to bid more jobs. This study analyzed the time and accuracy of performing quantity takeoffs when using building information modeling (BIM) through a comparison study using Revit (BIM software) and On-Center's OST. In preparation for the study the researcher conducted a pilot study. Participants of the study were asked to perform a quantity takeoff using both Revit and OST. Their resulting data was then, analyzed comparing both the time and accuracy of each item taken off. The subjects' perspectives on the two different methods of performing takeoff are also included in the findings of this study. This study focused on a conceptual estimate takeoff for a small commercial building. The results of the study showed that, on average, those using BIM were able to perform the overall takeoff faster than those using OST while still maintaining equivalent accuracy. This study includes methods to improve productivity for quantity takeoff through an analysis of the takeoffs of counts, areas, and lengths. Findings of this study include methods, techniques, and cautions for performing a quantity takeoff using BIM.

This dissertation describes the development of a high-power, plastic-based, thick-film lithium-ion microbattery for use in a hybrid micropower system for autonomous microsensors. A composite porous electrode structure and a liquid state electrolyte were implemented in the microbatteries to achieve the high power capability and energy density. The use of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) was found to significantly reduce the measured resistance of the cathodes that use LiAl0.14Mn1.86O4 as active materials, increase active material accessibility, and improve the cycling and power performance without the need of compression. Optimized uncompressed macro cathodes were capable of delivering power densities greater than 50 mW/cm2, adequate to meet the peak power needs of the targeted microsystems. The anodes used mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB) with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and had significantly better power performance than the cathodes. The thick-film microbattery was successfully fabricated using techniques compatible with microelectronic fabrication processes. A Cyclic Olefin Copolymer (COC)-film was used as both the substrate and primary sealing materials, and patterned metal foils were used as the current collectors. A liquid-state electrolyte and Celgard separator films were used in the microbatteries. These microbatteries had electrode areas of c.a. 2 mm x 2 mm, and nominal capacities of 0.025-0.04 mAh/cell (0.63-1.0 mAh/cm2, corresponding to an energy density of ~6.3-10.1 J/cm2). These COC-based batteries were able to deliver constant currents up to 20 mA/cm2 (100% depth of discharge, corresponding to a power density of 56 mW/cm2 at 2.8 V) and pulse currents up to 40 mA/cm2 (corresponding to a power density of 110 mW/cm2). The high power capability, small size, and high energy density of these batteries should make them suitable for the hybrid micropower systems; and the flexible plastic substrate is also likely to afford some unique integration possibilities for autonomous microsystems. The mechanism by which the SWNTs improved the rate performance of composite cathodes was studied both experimentally and theoretically. It was concluded that the use of SWNT improved cathode performance by improving the electronic contacts to active material particles, which consequently improved the accessibility of these particles and improved the rate capability of the composite cathodes.

In a world full of digital information we should be able to easily collect, organize, annotate, and leverage information from many different sources. This should be easy to do and not interrupt our normal workflow. A system to support information collection and organization should be user-friendly and as unobtrusive as possible, while still allowing for flexible and intelligent annotation. It should also be able to leverage the inherent information content of a collection of annotated information. We present a system that will demonstrate how these ideas can come together to make information collection easier and more productive. The system facilitates collection, organization, and annotation of information using screen captures, and leverages the information content of the annotated collection to automatically summarize the information and find additional related information via searchable document repositories. ScreenCrayons is a system for collecting annotations on any type of document or visual information from any application. The basis for the system is a screen capture upon which the user can highlight the relevant portions of the image. The user can define any number of topics for organizing notes. Each topic is associated with a highlighting "crayon." In addition the user can supply annotations in digital ink or text. Algorithms are described that summarize captured images based on the highlight strokes so as to provide overviews of many annotations as well as being able to "zoom in" on particular information about a given note and the context of that note. Annotations the user makes on the screen captures are automatically associated with regions of text that are then used to formulate queries to a search engine. The results of these queries are filtered and ranked based on their similarity to the original annotations. The system then presents links to these documents to the user. We also describe an experiment that shows that the documents found by the annotation system are generally found to be more relevant to a user's topic than the users own queries using the search engine.