This research study proposed to view a remote service delivery system from three distinct perspectives: connected home environments (user perspective), remote service delivery platform (service enabler), and remote service providers (service provider perspective); to establish a holistic view on the requirements of remote service provision to connected home environments. A reference architecture for remote service provision based on the proposed views has been devised, which provides built-in support for an “On-Demand” operating model and facilitate “Freedom of Choice” via different levels of interoperability.

ITC/USA 2015 Conference Proceedings / The Fifty-First Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 26-29, 2015 / Bally's Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV / In this paper, we present our research on using computer-vision analysis for vehicular safety applications. Our research has potential applications for both autonomous vehicles and connected vehicles. In particular, for connected vehicles, we propose three image analysis algorithms that enhance the quality of a vehicle's on-board video before inter-vehicular information exchange takes place. For autonomous vehicles, we are investigating a visual analysis scheme for collision avoidance during back up and an algorithm for automated 3D map building. These algorithms are relevant to the telemetering domain as they involve determining the relative pose between a vehicle and other vehicles on the road, or between a vehicle and its 3D driving environment, or between a vehicle and obstacles surrounding the vehicle.

Purpose: The goal of this study was to develop a novel tool for connected speech analysis in aphasia, so that spoken output can be characterized in a data-driven and explanatory manner. Method: We designed a multidimensional rating scheme called the Auditory-Perceptual Rating of Connected Speech in Aphasia (APROCSA), in which 27 common features were each rated on a 5-point scale. Three researchers and twelve student clinicians rated 24 connected speech samples from the AphasiaBank database. Results: Ratings conducted by both researchers and student clinicians demonstrated good-to-excellent reliability and strong concurrent validity with AphasiaBank measures derived from transcriptions, clinical measures, and subscores from the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB). Factor analysis revealed that four underlying factors—Paraphasia, Logopenia, Agrammatism, and Motor speech—accounted for 79% of the variance in the connected speech profiles. Examination of individual patient scores showed considerable diversity of factor scores among patients of any given aphasia subtype. Conclusions: The APROCSA proved to be a reliable, valid, and efficient tool for research or clinical purposes. The preliminary findings of the factor analysis suggest a parcellation of non-fluency into three distinct profiles—Logopenia, Agrammatism, and Motor speech—which may occur in conjunction with other non-fluent profiles or with the fluent profile

Camera makers are now increasingly adding WiFi chips to cameras to make transferring photos to smartphones or computers easier. At the same time this new technology brings on the opportunity to rethink what a connected camera could be and how it might shape our relationship with these devices. As the features in our consumer cameras start to move beyond physical constraints of the device itself, we will rely more on the device’s inherent character to make sense of it. Through multiple workshops, experiments, mockups and prototypes I explored a set of alternative characters and concepts for our digital consumer cameras and ultimately give an example of how a playful camera might inspire us to look at ourselves and the world around us with new eyes.  The resulting provocation is KOPPLA, a prototype of an Internet-connected camera that treats its owners as a creative collective. It offers inspiring creative challenges at the touch of a button. These challenges come from other camera owners in the collective, from local communities or from organizations interested in gathering personal perspectives. The final design aims to provoke new ideas for what the industry considers a connected camera to be. In that sense, as a connecting rather than connected camera, KOPPLA goes beyond offloading photographs to a smartphone or the Internet – instead connecting its owners to new places, people and ideas.

Our interest about interdisciplinary teaching has grown during our time at Högskolan Dalarna and especially during the subject physical education. It became clear that people learn in different ways. The theoretical education in school benefits the visual and auditory strong learners but the kinesthetic strong learners find it more difficult to absorb the information. We argue that integrating subjects is a good way to mix theory and practice and thus gives more students an opportunity to learn the content of the subject. The intention of this examination paper is to investigate the relationship between the attitudes of the teachers regarding interdisciplinary teaching, the practical restrains, possibilities and the presence of interdisciplinary teaching at three different schools. Semi-structured interviews with six physical educators and three principals have been performed. An ad-hoc method has been used, with categorizing (teachers), and narrative (principals). Teachers and principal’s definitions of, the pros and cons for, and the actual presence of interdisciplinary teaching have been investigated. The main results of our studies are: 1) That teachers and principals define interdisciplinary teaching as thematic work. 2) Teachers experience lack of time for collective planning due to others duties. 3) Teachers and principals understanding of physical education makes it difficult to integrate physical education with other subjects. Some of the conclusions from this study are that interdisciplinary teaching must be voluntary. Conditions to practice interdisciplinary teaching must be sufficient, e.g regarding collective planning time. An increased presence of interdisciplinary teaching that includes physical education requires a new understanding of physical education.

A bidirectional charge equalization circuit based on a bidirectional flyback converter topology is proposed to achieve the balance charging and discharging in series-connected battery bank. The circuit comprises a multi-input transformer, in which the batteries bank are connected to the primary windings via associated active power switches. During discharging, the batteries transfer energy to the load by activating the primary power switches. On the contrary, the batteries are charged by activating the secondary power switch in which the load is replaced by a power source. In order to simplify the control circuit and provide a flexible modulation, a digital signal processor (DSP) with the associated sensors and interface circuits are used as the control kernel. It is used to monitor the variations of battery voltages, and to regulate the duty ratio of the converter to provide a balance charging or discharging among the batteries. A battery bank with four series connected lead-acid batteries is used for illustrating the operation of the bidirectional charge equalization circuit. The experimental results advocate the applicability of the proposed approach.

The design and implementation of a small-scale solar energy conversion system is presented in this thesis. The power circuit of the PV inverter is composed of a push-pull converter and a full-bridge inverter. The inverter converts DC power generated by photovoltaic cells into AC power. This design allows flexible arrangements of various solar cells modules. The systems can supply loads and feed excess power to the grid with unit power factor when operated under grid-connected mode, or supply loads exclusively by operating in the stand-alone mode. In grid-connected mode, it is controlled to follow the variations of solar panel insolation for achieving maximum power point tracking. A 150W prototype of the conversion system is implemented, simulation and experimental results are provided to verify the performance.

This study is to discuss the correlation between financial firms and non-financial firms through board linkages and the relationship between these connections and lending and borrowing behavior. Although a board linkage may provide the benefit of better information flows between the lender and borrower, a person on the board of both a bank and a borrowing firm board linkage may face a conflict of interest: the person has a fiduciary duty to both the bank and the firm and these interests may diverge. Many studies suggest that the information benefits of connections outweigh the costs of conflicts. In this way, the study is to find out what kind of firms will attract banker on the board, and the relationship between these connections and lending and borrowing behavior. The conclusions of this study are presented as the following. On firm characteristics, financial firms will choose companies with better credit risk to be the directors. In addition, on the lending and borrowing behavior, the bankers will be the directors of the companies that have longer borrowing terms. The purpose is to monitor these companies. It also can be implied that non-financial firms with banker on the board will have longer borrowing terms than the financial firms.

As we emerge into an age of hyperconnectivity, technology becomes increasingly pervasive in our daily lives. And with this change, our behavior and values progressively shift towards instant access, constant availability and multi-tasking. Recent research studies in cognitive psychology have indicated a change in the wiring of our brain due to these behavior shifts.  In this thesis project, technology’s role in our lives was explored, particularly within the context of home, a traditionally restorative environment.  By identifying key problem areas from user research and drawing inspirations from slow technology and other relevant fields of expertise, key concepts were conceptualized. The result is a collection of computer-mediated objects designed to support downtime and reflective behavior, as well as, integrate into our everyday living.

No-notice evacuations of metropolitan areas can place significant demands on transportation infrastructure. In preparation, emergency managers and transportation engineers study potential demands and many create evacuation traffic management plans. The findings from a St. Louis Metro East evacuation study revealed some problematic areas of the transportation network. At these locations the traffic backed up during a simulated evacuation, caused a significant amount of delay, and increased the evacuation clearance time. An emerging paradigm called Connected Vehicle (CV) technology can provide real-time communication between vehicles in a traffic stream. The objectives of this research were to evaluate the impacts of CVs on evacuation from a downtown metropolitan area. The microsimulation software VISSIM was used to model the roadway network and the evacuation traffic. The model was built, calibrated and validated for studying the performance of traffic during the evacuation. This model helped researchers to find the time required to evacuate people in this area for different disaster scenarios. Because it is unlikely that vehicles equipped with CV technologies will become commonplace soon, the researcher tested different levels of deployment, also known as penetration rate. This study included penetration rates from 0 to 30 percent CVs; evaluating the average speed, average and total delays. The findings suggest significant reductions in total delays when CVs reached a penetration rate of 30 percent or greater. Results showed that the presence of CVs at a penetration rate of 30 percent could reduce the overall traffic delay by 60 percent over the evacuation period. A sensitivity analysis was conducted and the finding showed that a 10 percent increase in the penetration rate will significantly improve traffic flow. The findings of this study suggest that the communication capabilities of CVs can reduce delays and improve the traffic flow rate during a no-notice evacuation. Additionally, the benefits could be greater for evacuations with higher volumes, evacuations that last longer, and evacuations with higher proportions of CVs in the vehicle stream.