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La circulation du golfe du Lion est influencée par un forçage atmosphérique intense et le Courant Nord Méditerranéen (CNM). Une configuration au 1/16° a été utilisée pour modéliser la dynamique complexe de cette région, mais ne permet pas de modéliser correctement le CNM. Nous avons utilisé la méthode d’assimilation du filtre SEEK afin de combiner l’information contenue dans ce modèle et celle provenant d’observations synthétiques altimétriques (de type SARAL-AltiKa) et in situ, extraites d’une configuration réaliste du golfe du Lion au 1/64°. Afin d’évaluer la qualité des résultats, des diagnostics statistiques et physiques ont été établis et témoignent d’une bonne qualité de l’expérience. On a ainsi montré une amélioration des caractéristiques du CNM en surface et en profondeur, de son activité mésoéchelle et permis l’intrusion de branches de recirculation sur le plateau. Une meilleure représentation de ce courant a permis d’améliorer la quantité des échanges côte-large de même que la caractéristique des eaux du plateau, ce qui a permis la formation d’eaux denses hivernales, leur convection puis leur cascading le long du talus. L’assimilation a aussi amélioré les caractéristiques du panache du Rhône. On a ainsi montré que l’assimilation de nouvelles formes d’observations dans les systèmes opérationnels permettra de contrôler des processus plus fins et proches des côtes, non contrôlés par les systèmes d’observations actuels. / Ocean circulation in the Gulf of Lions is both influenced by intense atmospheric forcings and the North Mediterranean Current (NMC). A 1/16◦ configuration of the Gulf of Lions has been used to represent the complex dynamics of this area but does not allow a correct modeling of the NMC. We have used the SEEK filter data assimilation method to combine the information contained in the model and the one coming from synthetic in situ and altimetric observations (from SARAL-AltiKa altimeter). Those observations have been extracted from a realist 1/64◦ configuration of the Gulf of Lions. To assess the quality of results, statistical and physical diagnostics have been developed and show a good quality of the experiment. Thanks to a better representation of this current at the surface and at depth as well as its mesoscale activity, we have managed to improve the quantity of cross shelf exchanges. Consequently, we have managed to improve shelf water characteristics, which have thus allowed the formation of dense waters in winter, their convection and cascading over the shelf break. Rhône river plume characteristics have also been improved thanks to data assimilation. We have finally shown that assimilating those new kinds of observations in operational systems should allow the control of small scale processes closed to the coast that are not controlled with present observational systems

Le filtre de Kalman étendu singulier évolutif (SEEK) et sa variante interpolée, appelée SEIK, ont été implémentés et testés avec succès dans plusieurs modèles océaniques. Cependant, ces deux filtres restent chers pour une océanographie opérationnelle. L'objectif principal de notre travail est de développer des formes dégradées des filtres SEEK et SEIK qui sont moins couteux mais aussi performants. Notre approche consiste essentiellement à simplifier l'évolution de la base de correction des filtres SEEK et SEIK, qui est la partie la plus chère de ces deux filtres. Pour améliorer les performances de nos filtres dans les périodes instables du modèle, nous introduisons tout d'abord les notions d'analyse EOFs locales et mixte dans le but d'augmenter la représentativité de la base de correction. Cela nous amène à construire une nouvelle variante du filtre SEEK avec une base de correction semi-évolutive partiellement locale. Nous présentons ensuite plusieurs schémas de réglage adaptatif des paramètres du filtre SEEK. Nous terminons enfin par une comparaison entre les performances des filtres SEEK et ROEK pour montrer l'intérêt de l'évolution de la base de correction, ce dernier étant aussi introduit pour compenser le caractère non-évolutif de la base EOFs locale. Nous avons implémenté tous nos filtres dans une configuration réaliste du modèle OPA dans l'océan Pacifique tropical. Leurs performances ont été étudiées avec des expériences jumelles. Le filtre SEIK est utilisé comme une référence pour la comparaison. Les résultats de ces expériences montrent que nos nouveaux filtres sont aussi performants que le filtre SEIK, mais peuvent être de 2 à 10 fois plus rapides.

The purpose of this study was to understand the decision making process of caregivers placing their elderly family members in a nursing home facility. Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) was used, as well as the Critical Incident Technique (CIT). ELT was utilized in an effort to understand the learning that took place during the caregiving experiences, and CIT was used to better understand the critical incidents that led the caregivers to seek nursing home placement. A sample of twelve former informal dementia caregivers between the ages of fifty-seven and eighty-seven was drawn from the metropolitan Richmond, Virginia area. In-depth interviews were audiotaped and provided the primary source of data for this study. An interview protocol consisting of eleven open-ended questions derived from current dementia caregiving literature guided the conversation between the researcher and the caregivers in the sample. A constant comparison method was used in this study. The findings revealed that there are a variety of reasons why informal dementia caregivers seek nursing home placement for their family members. Themes related to the decision making process to seek nursing home placement include (1) dementia related behaviors, (2) safety concerns, (3) emotional and psychological burden, and (4) unexpected medical intervention. Indicators of each theme found in this study suggest that providing informal care for an individual with dementia can be very overwhelming and challenging. Although there were some positive aspects associated with this form of caregiving, such as feelings of pride and self-worth, the overall consensus from this study was that dementia caregiving is a very difficult experience in which the primary caregiver had to ultimately seek formal placement in a nursing home for their family member for a variety of reasons.

Serviços Ambientais - purificação do ar, estabilização do clima, polinização de culturas, etc. - são funções fundamentais na sustentação da vida humana e têm sua importância econômica cada vez mais evidenciada. Para melhor estudar estes Serviços e saber como eles se comportam, são necessárias novas abordagens para disponibilizar, integrar e compartilhar os dados existentes sobre eles. O projeto ViNCES (Virtual Network Center of Ecosystem Services) propõe a utilização de laboratórios acessíveis via internet - weblabs - com foco em Serviços Ambientais a fim de promover uma melhor compreensão destes serviços. Assim, com o objetivo de viabilizar esta proposta, desenvolveu-se uma arquitetura que permite o acesso aos diversos weblabs do projeto de maneira integrada, disponibilizando os dados de experimentos realizados a um maior número de pesquisadores. A arquitetura proposta fundamenta-se no paradigma de Arquitetura Orientada a Serviços e atende a requisitos de acesso centralizado aos weblabs para a realização e recuperação de experimentos de maneira remota. Esta arquitetura aproveita outras pesquisas na área de Ecoinformática, considerando soluções já existentes no projeto SEEK (Science Environment for Ecological Knowledge). Desta maneira, adota o padrão de metadados EML (Ecological Metadata Language) para a transferência e armazenamento de dados dos experimentos, permitindo que os experimentos fiquem disponíveis a outros pesquisadores que utilizem a infra-estrutura do projeto SEEK. / Ecosystem Services - air purification, climate estabilization, crop pollination, etc. - are essential to sustain human life.Their economic importance is becoming more and more recognized. In order to better study these Services and learn about their behaviour, new approaches are needed for making available, integrating and sharing existing data about them. The ViNCES (Virtual Network Center of Ecosystem Services) project proposes the use of remotely accessible laboratories - weblabs - focused on Ecosystem Services to better understanding these services. In this way, an architecture was developed that allows access to project´s weblabs in an integrated way, giving access to collected data for more researchers. The proposed architecture is based on the SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) paradigm and considers requirements of centralized access to laboratories to, in a remote way, make experiments and retrieve gathered data. This architecture considers other related initiatives in the ecoinformatics field, and uses solutions present in the SEEK (Science Environment for Ecological Knowledge) project. In this way, the EML (Ecological Metadata Language) standard was adopted for transporting and storaging experiments data, and allows that these data are available for other researchers that use the SEEK infra-structure.

Serviços Ambientais - purificação do ar, estabilização do clima, polinização de culturas, etc. - são funções fundamentais na sustentação da vida humana e têm sua importância econômica cada vez mais evidenciada. Para melhor estudar estes Serviços e saber como eles se comportam, são necessárias novas abordagens para disponibilizar, integrar e compartilhar os dados existentes sobre eles. O projeto ViNCES (Virtual Network Center of Ecosystem Services) propõe a utilização de laboratórios acessíveis via internet - weblabs - com foco em Serviços Ambientais a fim de promover uma melhor compreensão destes serviços. Assim, com o objetivo de viabilizar esta proposta, desenvolveu-se uma arquitetura que permite o acesso aos diversos weblabs do projeto de maneira integrada, disponibilizando os dados de experimentos realizados a um maior número de pesquisadores. A arquitetura proposta fundamenta-se no paradigma de Arquitetura Orientada a Serviços e atende a requisitos de acesso centralizado aos weblabs para a realização e recuperação de experimentos de maneira remota. Esta arquitetura aproveita outras pesquisas na área de Ecoinformática, considerando soluções já existentes no projeto SEEK (Science Environment for Ecological Knowledge). Desta maneira, adota o padrão de metadados EML (Ecological Metadata Language) para a transferência e armazenamento de dados dos experimentos, permitindo que os experimentos fiquem disponíveis a outros pesquisadores que utilizem a infra-estrutura do projeto SEEK. / Ecosystem Services - air purification, climate estabilization, crop pollination, etc. - are essential to sustain human life.Their economic importance is becoming more and more recognized. In order to better study these Services and learn about their behaviour, new approaches are needed for making available, integrating and sharing existing data about them. The ViNCES (Virtual Network Center of Ecosystem Services) project proposes the use of remotely accessible laboratories - weblabs - focused on Ecosystem Services to better understanding these services. In this way, an architecture was developed that allows access to project´s weblabs in an integrated way, giving access to collected data for more researchers. The proposed architecture is based on the SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) paradigm and considers requirements of centralized access to laboratories to, in a remote way, make experiments and retrieve gathered data. This architecture considers other related initiatives in the ecoinformatics field, and uses solutions present in the SEEK (Science Environment for Ecological Knowledge) project. In this way, the EML (Ecological Metadata Language) standard was adopted for transporting and storaging experiments data, and allows that these data are available for other researchers that use the SEEK infra-structure.

Ce travail porte sur la comparaison de deux familles de méthodes d'assimilation de données de rang réduit en océanographie physique : l'approche séquentielle de type filtre SEEK et l'approche variationnelle de type 4D-Var réduit. Cette comparaison est d'abord effectuée dans un cadre idéal d'expériences jumelles puis dans un cadre réaliste avec l'assimilation de profils réels de température dans l'océan Pacifique Tropical sur une année. Les caractéristiques propres à chaque méthode sont mises en évidence. La pertinence physique des résultats est vérifiée par comparaison avec des données indépendantes. On présente enfin une méthode hybride combinant l'estimation d'erreur du filtrage du SEEK et le lissage du 4D-Var réduit.

La circulation du golfe du Lion est influencée par un forçage atmosphérique intense et le Courant Nord Méditerranéen (CNM). Une configuration au 1/16° a été utilisée pour modéliser la dynamique complexe de cette région, mais ne permet pas de modéliser correctement le CNM. Nous avons utilisé la méthode d'assimilation du filtre SEEK afin de combiner l'information contenue dans ce modèle et celle provenant d'observations synthétiques altimétriques (de type SARAL-AltiKa) et in situ, extraites d'une configuration réaliste du golfe du Lion au 1/64°. Afin d'évaluer la qualité des résultats, des diagnostics statistiques et physiques ont été établis et témoignent d'une bonne qualité de l'expérience. On a ainsi montré une amélioration des caractéristiques du CNM en surface et en profondeur, de son activité mésoéchelle et permis l'intrusion de branches de recirculation sur le plateau. Une meilleure représentation de ce courant a permis d'améliorer la quantité des échanges côte-large de même que la caractéristique des eaux du plateau, ce qui a permis la formation d'eaux denses hivernales, leur convection puis leur cascading le long du talus. L'assimilation a aussi amélioré les caractéristiques du panache du Rhône. On a ainsi montré que l'assimilation de nouvelles formes d'observations dans les systèmes opérationnels permettra de contrôler des processus plus fins et proches des côtes, non contrôlés par les systèmes d'observations actuels.

Every year, approximately 100 people die in fire related incidents in Sweden. ”Seek” is designed to assist fire fighters to locate people faster in smoke diving procedures. ”Seek” identifies people and possible dangers within the building before the smoke diving procedure begins. This allows the operation to be streamlined and planned, as well as avoiding risks which fire fighters are exposed to today. The early overview created by the ”Seek” smoke detector not only saves time in planning but reduces the time from accident until the people in the burning building can receive skilled care, increasing their chance of survival.

Children with autism spectrum disorders often have deficits in the area of social skills. Because of this deficit many children with autism avoid engaging in play activities with typically developing peers. The purpose of this study was to identify the utility of a photographic activity schedule, with embedded scripts, to teach three children with autism to play a complex social game with typically developing peers. In this study we used activity schedules to train children with autism to play hide-and-seek in a group with typically developing peers. All participants were prompted using physical guidance to follow the activity schedules to play hide-and-seek. Two activity schedules were present during teaching sessions, one was the seeker schedule and the other was the hider schedule. Each group member played the role of the seeker once and then the game ended. All of the participants were able to follow the activity schedules to play hide-andseek. We then systematically faded the activity schedules to the least intrusive version necessary. We were able to fade all of the scripts and several components of the activity schedules. For two of the three participants with autism we were able to fade the schedule from two binders to a visual cue displaying the order of the seekers. For the third participant we were able to fade one binder and the majority of the components in the second binder. The participants were able to continue to play hide-and-seek with the faded versions of the schedules in a novel environment and 2-weeks after treatment concluded.