No description available.

<p dir="ltr">Task-oriented programming is a way of programming manipulators in terms of high-level tasks instead of explicit motions. It has been a long-standing vision in robotics since its early days. Despite its potential, several challenges have hindered its full realization. This thesis identifies three major challenges, particularly in task specification and the planning-to-execution transition: 1) The absence of natural language integration in system input. 2) The dilemma of continuously developing non-uniform and domain-specific primitive-task libraries. 3) The requirement for much human intervention.</p><p dir="ltr">To overcome these difficulties, this thesis introduces a novel approach that integrates natural language inputs, eliminates the need on fixed primitive-task libraries, and minimizes human intervention. It adopts the behavior tree, a modular and user-friendly form, as the task representation and advances its usage in task specification and planning-to-execution transition. The thesis is structured into two parts – Task Specification and Planning-to-Execution Transition.</p><p dir="ltr">Task specification explores the use of large language models to generate a behavior tree from an end-user's input. A Phase-Step prompt is designed to enable the automatic behavior-tree generation from end-user's abstract task descriptions in natural languages. With the powerful generalizability of large language models, it breaks the dilemma that stays with fixed primitive-task libraries in task generation. A full-process case study demonstrated the proposed approach. An ablation study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Phase-Step prompts. Task specification also proposes behavior-tree embeddings to facilitate the retrieval-augmented generation of behavior trees. The integration of behavior-tree embeddings not only eliminates the need for manual prompt configuration but also provides a way to incorporate external domain knowledge into the generation process. Three types of evaluations were performed to assess the performance of the behavior-tree embedding method.</p><p dir="ltr">Planning-to-execution transition explores how to transit primitive tasks from task specification into manipulator executions. Two types of primitive tasks are considered separately: point-to-point movement tasks and object-interaction tasks. For point-to-point movement tasks, a behavior-tree reward is proposed to enable reinforcement learning over low-level movement while following high-level running order of the behavior tree. End-users only need to specify rewards on the primitive tasks over the behavior tree, and the rest of the process will be handled automatically. A 2D space movement simulation was provided to justify the approach. For object-interaction tasks, the planning-to-execution transition uses a large-language-model-based generation approach. This approach takes natural-language-described primitive tasks as input and directly produces task-frame-formalism set-points. Combined with hybrid position/force control systems, a transition process from primitive tasks directly into joint-level execution can be realized. Evaluations over a set of 30 primitive tasks were conducted.</p><p dir="ltr">Overall, this thesis proposes an approach that advances the behavior-tree towards automated task specification and planning-to-execution transitions. It opens up new possibilities for building better task-oriented manipulator programming systems.</p>

Children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) are often secluded from society, as the condition is perceived to be a defect. These children constantly fidget, move, lose track of time, and forget to complete tasks, leading them to struggle within existing social environments. Additionally, in Qatar there is a need to educate society about ADHD. This research explores wearable solutions that alter behaviors through physical interactions and sensory engagements. In response to the challenges faced by ADHD, Qatari traditional attire has been customized to support children with time management, and communication between child, parent, and society. Additionally, these wearables challenge Qatari perspectives surrounding existing health conditions in Qatar. Design outcomes consists of clothing elements, driven and shaped by the experiences of ADHD children, their physical behavior, their senses like touch, smell and sight. It addresses the daily conduct of the ADHD child, and the relationship of the child and parent. By challenging existing norms and analyzing the Qatari traditional clothing (the Thobe, the Abaya and the Prayer Bead), design outcomes have been realized by experimenting and playing with materials, prototyping and 3D printing on fabric. Existing functions of zippers, pockets, beads, cuffs and technical construction of the outfit have been redesigned and reconstructed.

<p>The present study deals with task-oriented conversations between a person with hearing loss and a relative or friend. The purpose was to investigate how the participants in the task-oriented context co-construct understanding, and to focus on different kind of repair strategies that the participants may use to make the hearing loss relevant in the conversation. The method used was Conversation Analysis (CA). The material consisted of eight videotaped task-oriented conversations between a person with hearing loss and their significant other. Altogether eight persons participated in the study – four of them had a hearing loss and the other four had normal hearing. The essay also presents a summary of previous research on communication involving persons with hearing loss. The occurrence and usage of repair strategies was brought to focus as this was of particular interest for this study. It was revealed that quantitative measures of these phenomena previously have been the most commonly used method. The analysis demonstrated that the participants used several different types of repair initiatives during the studied sequences. The categorization was based upon these repair initiatives. The different initiatives were primarily classified according to the manner in whish they specified the nature of the repairable. The study pointed out that the underlying phenomena that were addressed in these sequences were of a complex and various nature. It was proposed that this might demonstrate a need to complement the approaches made earlier in this area with a more qualitative one.</p> / <p>Föreliggande studie behandlar uppgiftsorienterad interaktion mellan en person med hörselnedsättning och dennes anhörig eller vän. Syftet var att undersöka hur deltagarna i den uppgiftsorienterade kontexten samkonstruerar förståelse, och att fokusera på olika reparationssekvenser som deltagarna eventuellt använder för att göra hörselnedsättningen relevant för samtalet. Arbetsmetoden omfattade samtalsanalys i bemärkelsen Conversation Analysis (CA). Materialet bestod av åtta videoinspelningar av uppgiftsorienterade samtal mellan person med hörselnedsättning och anhörig. I studien deltog sammanlagt åtta personer, varav fyra hade hörselnedsättning och fyra var normalhörande. I uppsatsen presenteras även en sammanfattning av tidigare forskning kring kommunikation hos personer med hörselnedsättning. Fokus lades på studier om förekomsten och användandet av reparationsstrategier eftersom dessa var av särskilt intresse för studien. Det visade sig att mer kvantitativa mätmetoder av dessa fenomen tidigare varit det vanligaste tillvägagångssättet. Genom analys av samtalen framkom att deltagarna under aktuella reparationssekvenser använde sig av flera olika typer av reparationsinitiativ. Kategoriseringen i analysen utgick från dessa reparationsinitiativ. Initiativen indelades främst utifrån vilket sätt de preciserade vad som behövde repareras. I studien framkom att de bakomliggande fenomenen som adresserades i dessa reparationer var av komplex och varierande natur. Det föreslogs att detta demonstrerar ett behov av att kunna komplettera de metoder som tidigare använts inom detta forskningsområde med en ett mer kvalitativt synsätt.</p>

<p>In today’s society there is an ongoing debate concerning gender distribution amongst the top executives and there is a clear distinction between the men and women in leading positions. The reason for this can be because men and women to a certain degree conduct leadership differently. It is said that men are more focused on task oriented leadership while women seem to focus on a relation oriented and more interactive leadership. A leader’s success could be due to his or her ability to set up and use a network. Through professional networks a leader can get in touch with other people with similar life and work conditions and therefore this study was conducted to examine what effects the professional female network has contributed in the career developments of female top executives?</p><p>To answer the question the study begins with the collections of theoretical knowledge concerning the subject followed with in-depth interviews from picturing the real world. With the help of four female top executives, who all are active in the professional female network, empirical data could be collected to be compared with the theoretical references. The study showed that the professional female network had no major impact on the career advancement with the female top executives but that on the other hand it contributed to the personal development.</p><p>For women the work realm and the private realm are closely interconnected which means that family situations have constitute a problem for career advancement for female top executives. The opportunities female top executives encounter lies on the fact of being a woman as they then stand out on the claimed gender distribution.</p>

The present study deals with task-oriented conversations between a person with hearing loss and a relative or friend. The purpose was to investigate how the participants in the task-oriented context co-construct understanding, and to focus on different kind of repair strategies that the participants may use to make the hearing loss relevant in the conversation. The method used was Conversation Analysis (CA). The material consisted of eight videotaped task-oriented conversations between a person with hearing loss and their significant other. Altogether eight persons participated in the study – four of them had a hearing loss and the other four had normal hearing. The essay also presents a summary of previous research on communication involving persons with hearing loss. The occurrence and usage of repair strategies was brought to focus as this was of particular interest for this study. It was revealed that quantitative measures of these phenomena previously have been the most commonly used method. The analysis demonstrated that the participants used several different types of repair initiatives during the studied sequences. The categorization was based upon these repair initiatives. The different initiatives were primarily classified according to the manner in whish they specified the nature of the repairable. The study pointed out that the underlying phenomena that were addressed in these sequences were of a complex and various nature. It was proposed that this might demonstrate a need to complement the approaches made earlier in this area with a more qualitative one. / Föreliggande studie behandlar uppgiftsorienterad interaktion mellan en person med hörselnedsättning och dennes anhörig eller vän. Syftet var att undersöka hur deltagarna i den uppgiftsorienterade kontexten samkonstruerar förståelse, och att fokusera på olika reparationssekvenser som deltagarna eventuellt använder för att göra hörselnedsättningen relevant för samtalet. Arbetsmetoden omfattade samtalsanalys i bemärkelsen Conversation Analysis (CA). Materialet bestod av åtta videoinspelningar av uppgiftsorienterade samtal mellan person med hörselnedsättning och anhörig. I studien deltog sammanlagt åtta personer, varav fyra hade hörselnedsättning och fyra var normalhörande. I uppsatsen presenteras även en sammanfattning av tidigare forskning kring kommunikation hos personer med hörselnedsättning. Fokus lades på studier om förekomsten och användandet av reparationsstrategier eftersom dessa var av särskilt intresse för studien. Det visade sig att mer kvantitativa mätmetoder av dessa fenomen tidigare varit det vanligaste tillvägagångssättet. Genom analys av samtalen framkom att deltagarna under aktuella reparationssekvenser använde sig av flera olika typer av reparationsinitiativ. Kategoriseringen i analysen utgick från dessa reparationsinitiativ. Initiativen indelades främst utifrån vilket sätt de preciserade vad som behövde repareras. I studien framkom att de bakomliggande fenomenen som adresserades i dessa reparationer var av komplex och varierande natur. Det föreslogs att detta demonstrerar ett behov av att kunna komplettera de metoder som tidigare använts inom detta forskningsområde med en ett mer kvalitativt synsätt.

In today’s society there is an ongoing debate concerning gender distribution amongst the top executives and there is a clear distinction between the men and women in leading positions. The reason for this can be because men and women to a certain degree conduct leadership differently. It is said that men are more focused on task oriented leadership while women seem to focus on a relation oriented and more interactive leadership. A leader’s success could be due to his or her ability to set up and use a network. Through professional networks a leader can get in touch with other people with similar life and work conditions and therefore this study was conducted to examine what effects the professional female network has contributed in the career developments of female top executives? To answer the question the study begins with the collections of theoretical knowledge concerning the subject followed with in-depth interviews from picturing the real world. With the help of four female top executives, who all are active in the professional female network, empirical data could be collected to be compared with the theoretical references. The study showed that the professional female network had no major impact on the career advancement with the female top executives but that on the other hand it contributed to the personal development. For women the work realm and the private realm are closely interconnected which means that family situations have constitute a problem for career advancement for female top executives. The opportunities female top executives encounter lies on the fact of being a woman as they then stand out on the claimed gender distribution.

QUEIROZ FILHO, Carlos Alberto Batista de. Um mecanismo de tratamento de excessões sensível ao contexo para sistemas ubíquos orientados a tarefas. 2012. 95 f. : Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Ceará, Centro de Ciências, Departamento de Computação, Fortaleza-CE, 2012. / Submitted by guaracy araujo (guaraa3355@gmail.com) on 2016-06-08T16:21:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2012_dis_cabqueirozfilho.pdf: 1970524 bytes, checksum: 4c0037e9a7ae7b752cee99522d45b0b2 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by guaracy araujo (guaraa3355@gmail.com) on 2016-06-08T16:24:48Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2012_dis_cabqueirozfilho.pdf: 1970524 bytes, checksum: 4c0037e9a7ae7b752cee99522d45b0b2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-08T16:24:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2012_dis_cabqueirozfilho.pdf: 1970524 bytes, checksum: 4c0037e9a7ae7b752cee99522d45b0b2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / The main purpose of ubiquitous computing is to provide information and features needed to help people in their daily tasks, proactively and transparently, at any time and anywhere. The development of ubiquitous systems involves a set of challenging requirements, including: context awareness, which allows systems to adapt their behavior to respond appropriately in the face of environmental changes, and dependability, which is related to the ability of systems provide a service which offer strong indications that are reliable. Regarding the attributes of dependability, neglecting them can bring grievances from small to severe risks to the physical integrity of the users. Exception handling is a major fault tolerance techniques used in software development to achieve greater levels of dependability. This technique, even though it is widely used in traditional software development, it is still not widely used in the development of ubiquitous systems. This is due to challenging requirements and characteristics of this type of system, among which we highlight the sensitivity to the context and distribution, which can make the necessary possibilities of handling exceptions in a system as a whole is greater than the sum of possibilities for exception handling of the parts that compose it. Therefore, this dissertation aims to propose a mechanism for exception handling context-sensitive ubiquitous systems for task-oriented. The proposed mechanism is available through a framework called foreheads, which allows the reuse mechanism. By using this framework, system functionality can be implemented on an abstraction task, which responds appropriately to changes in context, detecting and treating exceptional situations. To validate the proposed mechanism was implemented a prototype system of parking control ubiquitous as a proof of concept, which focuses on demonstration of how the tasks are implemented that make up this system and how they are defined exceptions contextual and their handlers. / O principal propósito da Computação Ubíqua é o fornecimento de informações e funcionalidades necessárias para ajudar as pessoas em suas tarefas cotidianas, de maneira proativa e transparente, a qualquer instante e em qualquer lugar. O desenvolvimento de sistemas ubíquos envolve um conjunto de requisitos desafiadores, dentre eles: sensibilidade ao contexto, que permite que os sistemas adaptem o seu comportamento para responder de forma apropriada diante de mudanças do ambiente; e dependabilidade, que está relacionado à capacidade dos sistemas de prestarem um serviço os quais ofereçam fortes indícios de que são confiáveis. Em relação aos atributos de dependabilidade, negligenciá-los pode trazer desde pequenas insatisfações até graves riscos à integridade física dos usuários. O tratamento de exceções é uma das principais técnicas de tolerância a faltas empregadas no desenvolvimento de software para atingir maiores níveis de dependabilidade. Essa técnica, apesar de já ser amplamente utilizada no desenvolvimento de software tradicional, ainda é pouco empregada no desenvolvimento de sistemas ubíquos. Isso ocorre em virtude das características e requisitos desafiadores desse tipo de sistema, dentre os quais se destacam a sensibilidade ao contexto e a distribuição, a qual pode fazer com que as possibilidades necessárias de tratamento de exceções de um sistema como um todo seja maior do que a soma das possibilidades de tratamento de exceções das partes que o compõe. Portanto, essa dissertação tem como objetivo propor um mecanismo de tratamento de exceções sensível ao contexto para sistemas ubíquos orientados a tarefas. O mecanismo proposto é disponibilizado através de um framework, denominado FRonTES, que permite a reutilização do mecanismo. Através da utilização desse framework, funcionalidades do sistema podem ser implementadas sob uma abstração de tarefa, que responde de maneira adequada a mudanças de contexto, detectando e tratando situações excepcionais. Para a validação do mecanismo proposto foi implementado um protótipo de sistema de controle de estacionamento ubíquo como uma prova de conceito, que foca na demonstração de como são implementadas as tarefas que compõem esse sistema e como são definidas as exceções contextuais e seus tratadores.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / O principal propÃsito da ComputaÃÃo UbÃqua à o fornecimento de informaÃÃes e funcionalidades necessÃrias para ajudar as pessoas em suas tarefas cotidianas, de maneira proativa e transparente, a qualquer instante e em qualquer lugar. O desenvolvimento de sistemas ubÃquos envolve um conjunto de requisitos desafiadores, dentre eles: sensibilidade ao contexto, que permite que os sistemas adaptem o seu comportamento para responder de forma apropriada diante de mudanÃas do ambiente; e dependabilidade, que està relacionado à capacidade dos sistemas de prestarem um serviÃo os quais ofereÃam fortes indÃcios de que sÃo confiÃveis. Em relaÃÃo aos atributos de dependabilidade, negligenciÃ-los pode trazer desde pequenas insatisfaÃÃes atà graves riscos à integridade fÃsica dos usuÃrios. O tratamento de exceÃÃes à uma das principais tÃcnicas de tolerÃncia a faltas empregadas no desenvolvimento de software para atingir maiores nÃveis de dependabilidade. Essa tÃcnica, apesar de jà ser amplamente utilizada no desenvolvimento de software tradicional, ainda à pouco empregada no desenvolvimento de sistemas ubÃquos. Isso ocorre em virtude das caracterÃsticas e requisitos desafiadores desse tipo de sistema, dentre os quais se destacam a sensibilidade ao contexto e a distribuiÃÃo, a qual pode fazer com que as possibilidades necessÃrias de tratamento de exceÃÃes de um sistema como um todo seja maior do que a soma das possibilidades de tratamento de exceÃÃes das partes que o compÃe. Portanto, essa dissertaÃÃo tem como objetivo propor um mecanismo de tratamento de exceÃÃes sensÃvel ao contexto para sistemas ubÃquos orientados a tarefas. O mecanismo proposto à disponibilizado atravÃs de um framework, denominado FRonTES, que permite a reutilizaÃÃo do mecanismo. AtravÃs da utilizaÃÃo desse framework, funcionalidades do sistema podem ser implementadas sob uma abstraÃÃo de tarefa, que responde de maneira adequada a mudanÃas de contexto, detectando e tratando situaÃÃes excepcionais. Para a validaÃÃo do mecanismo proposto foi implementado um protÃtipo de sistema de controle de estacionamento ubÃquo como uma prova de conceito, que foca na demonstraÃÃo de como sÃo implementadas as tarefas que compÃem esse sistema e como sÃo definidas as exceÃÃes contextuais e seus tratadores. / The main purpose of ubiquitous computing is to provide information and features needed to help people in their daily tasks, proactively and transparently, at any time and anywhere. The development of ubiquitous systems involves a set of challenging requirements, including: context awareness, which allows systems to adapt their behavior to respond appropriately in the face of environmental changes, and dependability, which is related to the ability of systems provide a service which offer strong indications that are reliable. Regarding the attributes of dependability, neglecting them can bring grievances from small to severe risks to the physical integrity of the users. Exception handling is a major fault tolerance techniques used in software development to achieve greater levels of dependability. This technique, even though it is widely used in traditional software development, it is still not widely used in the development of ubiquitous systems. This is due to challenging requirements and characteristics of this type of system, among which we highlight the sensitivity to the context and distribution, which can make the necessary possibilities of handling exceptions in a system as a whole is greater than the sum of possibilities for exception handling of the parts that compose it. Therefore, this dissertation aims to propose a mechanism for exception handling context-sensitive ubiquitous systems for task-oriented. The proposed mechanism is available through a framework called foreheads, which allows the reuse mechanism. By using this framework, system functionality can be implemented on an abstraction task, which responds appropriately to changes in context, detecting and treating exceptional situations. To validate the proposed mechanism was implemented a prototype system of parking control ubiquitous as a proof of concept, which focuses on demonstration of how the tasks are implemented that make up this system and how they are defined exceptions contextual and their handlers.

A large amount of digital information collected and stored in datasets creates vast opportunities for knowledge discovery and data mining. These datasets, however, may contain sensitive information about individuals and, therefore, it is imperative to ensure that their privacy is protected. Most research in the area of privacy preserving data publishing does not make any assumptions about an intended analysis task applied on the dataset. In many domains such as healthcare, finance, etc; however, it is possible to identify the analysis task beforehand. Incorporating such knowledge of the ultimate analysis task may improve the quality of the anonymized data while protecting the privacy of individuals. Furthermore, the existing research which consider the ultimate analysis task (e.g., classification) is not suitable for high-dimensional data. We show that automatic feature selection (which is a well-known dimensionality reduction technique) can be utilized in order to consider both aspects of privacy and utility simultaneously. In doing so, we show that feature selection can enhance existing privacy preserving techniques addressing k-anonymity and differential privacy and protect privacy while reducing the amount of modifications applied to the dataset; hence, in most of the cases achieving higher utility. We consider incorporating the concept of privacy-by-design within the feature selection process. We propose techniques that turn filter-based and wrapper-based feature selection into privacy-aware processes. To this end, we build a layer of privacy on top of regular feature selection process and obtain a privacy preserving feature selection that is not only guided by accuracy but also the amount of protected private information. In addition to considering privacy after feature selection we introduce a framework for a privacy-aware feature selection evaluation measure. That is, we incorporate privacy during feature selection and obtain a list of candidate privacy-aware attribute subsets that consider (and satisfy) both efficacy and privacy requirements simultaneously. Finally, we propose a multi-dimensional, privacy-aware evaluation function which incorporates efficacy, privacy, and dimensionality weights and enables the data holder to obtain a best attribute subset according to its preferences.