The rapid development of information technology has enabled the use of virtual teams, which are teams whose members use IT to coordinate their activities from a dispersed setting. The phenomenon of virtual teams raises questions regarding issues related to this type of work, i.e. organisational identification and other problems related to virtual work. We have investigated how to best manage these teams in order for managers to be successful in the virtual environment by studying the advantages and disadvantages as well as success factors. The study has used a mixed methodology, where we have interviewed 8 managers that are active in virtual work and we have also conducted a survey to investigate how members of virtual teams perceives issues of organisational identification and issues related to virtual work. One of the most important findings of this study is that there was a positive relationship between level of organisational identification and level of virtuality, member involvement, and previous experience. The strongest predictor for organisational identification was although the level of member involvement. We can conclude that the main advantages of virtual work were cost reduction and the access to competence. The main disadvantage of virtual work was identified as lack of interpersonal relations in the workplace. Other disadvantages were found as unorganised meetings, unprioritised work as well as technological issues. The most important success factors were found to be Clear roles and Responsibilities, Pre-agreement/time plan, Defined Strategies. These three factors could be summarised as "What needs to be done, when and by who‟. Moreover, clear and distinct communication within the team in order to avoid misunderstandings, followed by User-friendly technology and to have previous experience of technology used was also identified as important factors in virtual work. Other success factors identified was the use of Face-to-Face meetings.

The goal of this thesis is to develop an algorithm to process infrared images and achieve automatic identification of moving subjects with fever. The identification is based on two main features: the distinction between the geometry of a human face and other objects in the field of view of the camera, and the temperature of the radiating object. Infrared thermography is a remote sensing technique used to measure temperatures based on emitted infrared radiation. Applications include fever screening in major public places such as airports and hospitals. Current accepted practice of screening requires people to stay in a line and temperature measurements are carried out for one person at a time. However in the case of mass screening of moving people the accuracy of the measurements is still under investigation. An algorithm constituting of image processing to threshold objects based on the temperature, template matching and hypothesis testing is proposed to achieve automatic identification of fever subjects. The algorithm was first tested on training data to obtain a threshold value (used to discriminate between face and non face shapes) corresponding to a false detection rate of 5%, which in turn corresponds to 85% probability of detection using Neyman-Pearson criterion. By testing the algorithm on several simulated and experimental images (which reflect relevant scenarios characterizing crowded places) it is observed that it can be beneficially implemented to introduce automation in the process of detecting moving subjects with fever.

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Title page, abstract and table of contents only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University of Adelaide Library. / A combination of Radio Frequency Identification technology and ubiquitous computing are revolutionising the manner in which we look at simple objects. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) allows RFID labeled objects to be identified at a distance without physical contact, and ubiquitous computing provides a virtually connected environment for the objects. RFID labels are frequently referred to as the next generation barcodes. RFID Systems provide increased productivity, efficiency, convenience and many advantages over bar codes for numerous applications, especially global supply chain management. RFID labeling has a number of advantages over conventional bar code systems. The optics based bar code systems could be rendered useless by common everyday environments containing dirt, dust, smoke, grease, condensation and by misorientation and misalignment. Furthermore bar codes are subject to fraudulent duplication and counterfeiting with minimal effort. However, there are limitations and constraints inherent to RFID technology: semiconductor thresholds, limits on transmitted power, costs, antenna and coupling inefficiencies. Thus it is important for RFID designers to understand these limitations and constraints in order to optimise system designs and overcome inefficiencies where possible. Therefore the work presented in this dissertation seeks to improve the performance of advanced RFID systems by overcoming a number of these limitations. Prior to a discussion of improving performance, the author's interpretation of a modem RFID system along its evolutionary path as a ubiquitous RFID network and its application to supply chain management is described. Performance improvements are achieved by: the development of electromagnetic theory for RFID system analysis and optimisation; design and development of interrogator antennas; analysis of electrically small and tiny antennas for RFID labels; and development and utilisation of a design methodology for creating high performance label antennas and antennas for tagging metallic objects. Implementations of RFID systems have raised concerns regarding information security and possible violations of end-user privacy. The most profound concerns are raised against low cost RFID technology because of its potential for mass scale deployment, its pervasive nature, and the resource limitations preventing the provision of strong cryptographic solutions. There is a growing need in the RFID community to discover and develop techniques and methods to overcome various hurdles posed by the above-mentioned concerns. Thus, the thesis also considers the vulnerabilities of low cost RFID systems and associated insecurities and privacy concerns resulting from the latter. Prior to addressing such concerns impeding the deployment of low cost RFID technology, a framework within which to provide security services is also detailed. It has become important to both defme and identity a framework based around low cost RFID systems since RFID has become a "catch all" phrase for various other forms of technology. Addressing security and privacy of low cost RFID systems requires novel thinking. The later parts of the thesis outline design considerations for security mechanisms and a number of practicable solutions for providing the features of: mutual authentication; confidentiality; message content security; product authentication; anonymity and untraceability, that are necessary for low cost RFID systems to overcome the weaknesses identified in this dissertation. Implementing these security mechanisms requires the generation of true random tag parameters and true random numbers. Achieving these objectives using a hardware based true random number generator is also described and analysed. A final part of the thesis focuses on active RFID labels and improving their performance. The primary concern with active labels is the life of the onboard battery. Turn-on circuits provide a method of turning "on" and "off" an active label remotely to conserve valuable battery power. Analysis, development and testing of a turn-on circuit concept, based on interrogator field sensing, have provided a means of remotely activating and deactivating active RFID labels and conserving battery power. The final chapter of this thesis provides a detailed analysis, based on coupling relations between electromechanical systems, for evaluating the feasibility of a theft detection sensor, based on a turn-on circuit for an active RFID label, for preventing the theft of high value items. While low cost RFID needs to overcome certain security and privacy related barriers, RFID technology does provide novel and valid approaches to such security related applications as product authentication, anti-counterfeiting and theft detection. It is believed that the contributions from this thesis will extend and elaborate on the existing knowledge base, paving the way forward to allow further significant deployment of advanced RFID techno logy. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1368084 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 2007

In experimental models of demyelination such as cat optic nerve injected with antibody to galactocerebroside, stepwise and ultimately full repair occurs, starting with recruitment of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OP) from surrounding tissue and culminating in remyelination by young competent oligodendrocytes. Endogenous repair of demyelination can also occur in the adult human central nervous system, as evidenced by remyelinated shadow plaques in MS, but ultimately fails in this disease, leading to areas of chronic demyelination where surviving axons are both dysfunctional in terms of conduction and vulnerable to ongoing damage. In order to meaningfully investigate this failure of remyelination in the human situation, an essential prerequisite is to be able to reliably identify the neuroglial cells, and in particular, oligodendrocyte lineage cells, involved in the repair pathway in situ in post mortem tissue. While some marker antigens have been shown to remain demonstrable despite autolytic change and through differing fixation levels, others are far more sensitive and only reliable in freshly obtained tissue with light fixation. For instance, the surface antigens NG2 and PDGFαR, which have been widely used in experimental studies as a marker for OP both in vivo and in vitro, have been shown to be adversely affected by both fixation and autolysis. To this end, the cat optic nerve demyelination model, in which the reparative oligodendrocyte lineage stages have been antigenically defined, was extended to normal optic nerve including lightly fixed tissue. Here, NG2, PDGFαR and the oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factors Olig1 and Olig2 were able to be demonstrated and then correlated with the existing antigenic phenotypes. Subsequently, normal human optic nerve, optimised for both morphological preservation and antigen retention, was used to develop an in vivo staining profile for all neuroglia including OP, that was then applied to conventionally prepared, normal and MS tissue. It was found that, with careful attention to technical parameters such as post mortem interval and details of fixation, OP and other stages of the remyelinating oligodendrocyte lineage could be identified in such material, resulting in meaningful insight into the repair status of the three MS samples studied.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1992.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1992.

Thesis (MCIS - Computer and Information Sciences)--AUT University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print (vii, 94 leaves ; 30 cm.) in the Archive at the City Campus (T 658.514 ZHA).

In this thesis a quadrotor is studied and a linear model is derived using grey-box estimation, a discipline in system identification where a model structure based on physical relations is used and the parameters are estimated using input-output measurements. From IMU measurements and measured PWM signals to the four motors, a direct approach using the prediction-error method is applied. To investigate the impact of the unknown controller the two-stage method, a closed-loop approach in system identification,  is applied as well. The direct approach was enough for estimating the model parameters. The resulting model manages to simulate the major dynamics for the vertical acceleration and the angular rates well enough  for future control design.

This thesis investigates the capabilities of the Collapse Prediction Relay (CPR-D) and also investigates the use of system identification for detection of oscillatory instability. Both the CPR-D and system identification are based on system measurements and do not require modelling of the power system. Measurement based stability monitors can help to avoid instability and blackouts, in cases where the available system model can not predict instability. The CPR-D uses frequency patterns in voltage oscillation to detect system instability. The relay is based on non-linear dynamics Theory. If a collapse is predicted, measures could be taken to prevent a blackout. The relay was tested using the output of simulators and was later installed in a substation. The data from laboratory tests and site installations is analysed enabling a detailed evaluation of the CPR-D.Oscillatory instability can be detected by monitoring the damping ratio of oscillations in the power system. Poor damping indicates a smaller stability margin. Subspace identification is used to estimate damping ratios. The method is tested under different conditions and using several power system models. The results show that using several measurements gives more accurate estimates and requires shorter data windows. A selection method for measurements is proposed in the thesis.