„Motinų jautrumo korekcijos analizė kūdikių prieraišumo kontekste“ SANTRAUKA Motinos jautrumo kūdikio signalams korekcija – palyginus naujas reiškinys, ypatingai Lietuvoje, tad šiuo tyrimu siekiama panagrinėti intervencijoje dalyvavusių motinų sąveikos su kūdikiais ypatumus, iškelti šiam procesui svarbius klausimus bei problemas, numatyti galimas ateities studijų kryptis. Pirmiausia siekiama panagrinėti motinų jautrumo pokyčius atliekant jautrumo korekciją. Kaip tyrimo problema keliamas klausimas – ar motinos jautrumas gali būti prognostinis kūdikio prieraišumo kokybės rodiklis. Taip pat norima aprašyti tyrime dalyvavusių motinų jautrumo, depresijos simptomų išreikštumo ir kasdienių rūpesčių vertinimo ypatumus bei palyginti jautrumo korekcijoje dalyvavusių ir nedalyvavusių motinų kūdikių prieraišumą. Šiame tyrime dalyvavo 35 motinų ir jų kūdikių poros. Dalis jų, t.y. 11 jautrių savo kūdikių signalams motinų sudarė vieną kontrolinę grupę; kitos – tai 24 mažai jautrios savo 6 mėnesių amžiaus kūdikių signalams motinos, atsitiktinai priskirtos vienai iš kitų dviejų - eksperimentei ar kontrolinei grupėms. Tad 10 iš jų dalyvavo vaizdo grįžtamuoju ryšiu paremtoje trumpalaikėje jautrumo korekcijos programoje, likusios (14) nedalyvavo. Po jautrumo korekcijos buvo įvertinti motinų jautrumo kūdikio signalams pokyčiai (Ainsworth motinos jautrumo skalė), depresijos simptomų išreikštumas (pagal Beck depresijos skalę), suvokiamo kasdienių rūpesčių vertinimo ypatumai (Kasdienių rūpesčių... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / „Mothers' Sensitivity Correction Analysis in the Context of Infants' Attachment“ SUMMARY Maternal sensitivity correction is fairly novel and unexplored field, especially in Lithuania, therefore the aim of this study is to explore mother-infant interaction characteristics after participation in sensitivity correction programme, to highlight important questions and problems, to predict possible directions for future investigations. Also it is sought to analyze maternal sensitivity changes after the correction programme. The problem of this study is a question – can maternal sensitivity be a prognostic indicator of a child attachment security. This study is also ment to describe the peculiarities of maternal sensitivity, expresiveness of depression syptomes, estimation of daily hassles and to compare their child attachment security according to their participation in intervention programme. 35 mother-infant dyads participated in this study. Part of them, that is 11 sensitive mothers constituted one control group; others – 24 that were rated as inconsistently sensitive or insensitive to their infants‘ signals, formed two other – experimental and control groups. 10 of them participated in a short-term sensitivity correction programme with video feedback, while others (14) didn‘t. The changes in maternal sensitivity (Ainsworth Maternal Sensitivity Scale) to the infants‘ signals, as well as mothers‘ perceived daily hassles (Daily Hassles Questionaire) and depressiveness (according... [to full text]

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer if left untreated. Incidence rates of melanoma have been increasing, especially among young adults, but survival rates are high if detected early. Unfortunately, the time and costs required for dermatologists to screen all patients for melanoma are prohibitively expensive. There is a need for an automated system to assess a patient's risk of melanoma using photographs of their skin lesions. Dermatologists could use the system to aid their diagnosis without the need for special or expensive equipment. One challenge in implementing such a system is locating the skin lesion in the digital image. Most existing skin lesion segmentation algorithms are designed for images taken using a special instrument called the dermatoscope. The presence of illumination variation in digital images such as shadows complicates the task of finding the lesion. The goal of this research is to develop a framework to automatically correct and segment the skin lesion from an input photograph. The first part of the research is to model illumination variation using a proposed multi-stage illumination modeling algorithm and then using that model to correct the original photograph. Second, a set of representative texture distributions are learned from the corrected photograph and a texture distinctiveness metric is calculated for each distribution. Finally, a texture-based segmentation algorithm classifies regions in the photograph as normal skin or lesion based on the occurrence of representative texture distributions. The resulting segmentation can be used as an input to separate feature extraction and melanoma classification algorithms. The proposed segmentation framework is tested by comparing lesion segmentation results and melanoma classification results to results using other state-of-the-art algorithms. The proposed framework has better segmentation accuracy compared to all other tested algorithms. The segmentation results produced by the tested algorithms are used to train an existing classification algorithm to identify lesions as melanoma or non-melanoma. Using the proposed framework produces the highest classification accuracy and is tied for the highest sensitivity and specificity.

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Purpose: To retrospectively assess the incidence and predictive factors for self-correction of ectopic eruption of maxillary permanent first molars (EE) and the prevailing attitudes amongst surveyed specialists regarding intervention in cases of EE. Methods: Charts of patients diagnosed with EE were assessed for predictive clinical and radiographic factors. An online survey was sent to pediatric dentists and orthodontists. Results: The rate of self-correction was 71%. One third of self-corrections occurred after age 9. Increased amount of impaction (r(43)=0.59, p<.001) and degree of resorption (r(57)=0.41, p=.001) were positively correlated with irreversibility. Orthodontists estimated the spontaneous self-correction rate to be lower (t(1178)=19.2, p<.001) than pediatric dentists. Conclusions: One third of self-corrections occurred after 9 years of age and delaying treatment of EE may be a viable option when uncertain of the outcome. Reliable predictive factors of irreversibility of EE were identified. Differences exist between pediatric dentists and orthodontists regarding management of EE.

Two broad surveys of community- level water consumption and pricing behavior are used to answer questions about water demand in a more flexible and dynamic context than is provided in the literature. Central themes of price representation, aggregation, and dynamic adjustment tie together three econometric demand analyses. The centerpiece of each analysis is an exogenous weighted price representation. A model in first-differences is estimated by ordinary least squares using data from a personally-conducted survey of Texas urban water suppliers. Annual price elasticity is found to vary with weather and income, with a value of -0.127 at the data mean. The dynamic model becomes a periodic error correction model when the residuals of 12 static monthly models are inserted into the difference model. Distinct residential, commercial, and industrial variables and historical climatic conditions are added to the integrated model, using new national data. Quantity demanded is found to be periodically integrated with a common stochastic root. Because of this, the structural monthly models must be cointegrated to be consistent, which they appear to be. The error correction coefficient is estimated at -0.187. Demand is found to be seasonal and slow to adjust to shocks, with little or no adjustment in a single year and 90% adjustment taking a decade or more. Residential and commercial demand parameters are found to be indistinguishable. The sources of price endogeneity and historical fixes are reviewed. Ideal properties of a weighted price index are identified. For schedules containing exactly two rates, weighting is equivalent to a distribution function in consumption. This property is exploited to derive empirical weights from the national data, using values from a nonparametric generalization of the structural demand model and a nonparametric cumulative density function. The result is a generalization of the price difference metric to a weighted level-price index. The validity of a uniform weighting is not rejected. The weighted price index is data intensive, but the payoff is increased depth and precision for the economist and accessibility for the practitioner.

The empirical likelihood method introduced by Owen (1988, 1990) is a powerful nonparametric method for statistical inference. It has been one of the most researched methods in statistics in the last twenty-five years and remains to be a very active area of research today. There is now a large body of literature on empirical likelihood method which covers its applications in many areas of statistics (Owen, 2001). One important problem affecting the empirical likelihood method is its poor accuracy, especially for small sample and/or high-dimension applications. The poor accuracy can be alleviated by using high-order empirical likelihood methods such as the Bartlett corrected empirical likelihood but it cannot be completely resolved by high-order asymptotic methods alone. Since the work of Tsao (2004), the impact of the convex hull constraint in the formulation of the empirical likelihood on the finite sample accuracy has been better understood, and methods have been developed to break this constraint in order to improve the accuracy. Three important methods along this direction are [1] the penalized empirical likelihood of Bartolucci (2007) and Lahiri and Mukhopadhyay (2012), [2] the adjusted empirical likelihood by Chen, Variyath and Abraham (2008), Emerson and Owen (2009), Liu and Chen (2010) and Chen and Huang (2012), and [3] the extended empirical likelihood of Tsao (2013) and Tsao and Wu (2013). The latter is particularly attractive in that it retains not only the asymptotic properties of the original empirical likelihood, but also its important geometric characteristics. In this thesis, we generalize the extended empirical likelihood of Tsao and Wu (2013) to handle inferences in two large classes of one-sample and two-sample problems. In Chapter 2, we generalize the extended empirical likelihood to handle inference for the large class of parameters defined by one-sample estimating equations, which includes the mean as a special case. In Chapters 3 and 4, we generalize the extended empirical likelihood to handle two-sample problems; in Chapter 3, we study the extended empirical likelihood for the difference between two p-dimensional means; in Chapter 4, we consider the extended empirical likelihood for the difference between two p-dimensional parameters defined by estimating equations. In all cases, we give both the first- and second-order extended empirical likelihood methods and compare these methods with existing methods. Technically, the two-sample mean problem in Chapter 3 is a special case of the general two-sample problem in Chapter 4. We single out the mean case to form Chapter 3 not only because it is a standalone published work, but also because it naturally leads up to the more difficult two-sample estimating equations problem in Chapter 4. We note that Chapter 2 is the published paper Tsao and Wu (2014); Chapter 3 is the published paper Wu and Tsao (2014). To comply with the University of Victoria policy regarding the use of published work for thesis and in accordance with copyright agreements between authors and journal publishers, details of these published work are acknowledged at the beginning of these chapters. Chapter 4 is another joint paper Tsao and Wu (2015) which has been submitted for publication. / Graduate / 0463 / fwu@uvic.ca

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Optical see-through display (OSTD) is a transparent digital display which simultaneously gives access to the digital contents and the real world objects behind it. Additive optical see-though display is a hardware subtype of OSTD which has its own light source to create the digital contents. In Additive OSTD, light coming from background objects mixes with the light originating from the display causing what is known as the color blending problem. The work in this thesis provides a solution to the color blending problem. In order to understand the problem, this thesis first presents a new color blending model for additive OSTD based on two display induced distortions: the Render distortion and the Material distortion. A new method called Binned Profile (BP) method which accounts for the render distortion is developed to predict the blended color, when applied on the color blending model. BP method is validated with other known methods and is shown to be the most accurate in predicting the color blends with 9 just noticeable differences (JND) in worst case. Based on the BP method, a new color correction algorithm called BP color correction is created to solve the color blending problem. BP-color correction finds the alternative digital color to counter balance the blending. The correction capacity of various digital colors were analysed using the BP color correction approach. BP color correction is also compared and proven to be better than the existing solution. A quicker version of the correction called quick correction is also explored. The thesis concludes with an exploration of the material distortion, explains the limitations of BP-correction, provides design recommendations .

The research reported on in this thesis forms part of the foundation of a bigger research project in which an attempt is made to provide better, faster and more efficient feedback on student writing. The introduction presents the localised and international context of the study, and discusses some of the problems experienced with feedback practice in general. The introduction also gives a preview of the intended practical implementation of the research reported on in this thesis. From there on, the thesis is presented in article form with each article investigating and answering a part of two main guiding questions. These questions are: 1. Does feedback on student writing work? 2. How can feedback on student writing be implemented as effectively as possible? The abstracts for the five individual articles are as follows: Article 1 Article 1 presents a rubric for the evaluation of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) software based on international recommendations for effective CALL. The rubric is presented after a brief overview of the pedagogical and implementation fundamentals of CALL, and a discussion of what needs to be included in a needs analysis for CALL evaluation. It is then illustrated how the evaluation criteria in the rubric can be used in the design of a new CALL system. Article 2 Providing feedback on student writing is a much-debated topic. One group of researchers argues that it is ineffective and another group remains convinced that it is effective, while at ground level teachers and lecturers simply carry on “marking” texts. The author of this article contends that both arguments have valid contributions to make and uses the arguments both for and against feedback to create a checklist for effective feedback practice. Adhering to this checklist should counter most of the arguments against feedback while supporting and improving the positive arguments in favour of feedback. Article 3 This article reports on an experiment which tested how effectively standardised feedback could be used when marking L2 student writing. The experiment was conducted using a custom-programmed software tool and a set of standardised feedback comments. The results of the experiment prove that standardised feedback can be used consistently and effectively to a degree, even though some refinements are still needed. Using standardised feedback in a standard marking environment can assist markers in raising their awareness of errors and in more accurately identifying where students lack knowledge. With some refinements, it may also be possible to speed up the marking process. Article 4 This article describes an experiment in which Boolean feedback (a kind of checklist) was used to provide feedback on the paragraph structures of first-year students in an academic literacy course. The major problems with feedback on L2 writing are introduced and it is established why a focus on paragraph structures in particular is of importance. The experiment conducted was a two-draft assignment in which three different kinds of feedback (technique A: handwritten comments; technique B: consciousness raising through generalised Boolean feedback; and technique C: specific Boolean feedback) were presented to three different groups of students. The results indicate that specific Boolean feedback is more effective than the other two techniques, partly because a higher proportion of the instances of negative feedback on the first draft were corrected in the second draft (improvements), but more importantly because in the revision a much lower number of changes to the text resulted in negative feedback on the second draft (regressions). For non-specific feedback, almost as many regressions occurred as improvements. In combination with automatic analytical techniques made possible with software, the results from this study make a case for using such checklists to give feedback on student writing. Article 5 This article describes an experiment in which a series of statements, answerable simply with yes or no (labelled Boolean feedback), were used to provide feedback on the introductions, conclusions and paragraph structures of student texts. A write-rewrite assignment (the same structure as in article 4) was used and the quality of the student revisions was evaluated. The results indicate that the students who received Boolean feedback showed greater improvement and fewer regressions than students who received feedback using the traditional method. The conclusion provides a brief summary as well as a preview of the immense future research possibilities made possible by this project. / Thesis (Ph.D. (English))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.