Two lightning detectors, of the magnetic direction finder type, form part of a two station system for determining the position of lightning strikes. The detectors are on a baseline of approximately 600 m, and the ultimate aim of the system is to accurately detect and map lightning within a radius of 30 km. Although no real time capability is present, the archive data collected from each separate station is used to find the offset errors in the azimuthal orientation, as well as in time (using processes described in Appendix A). The relative offset errors are determined by shifting the time and azimuthal information for one station’s data and calculating the maximum possible matching records (within certain time and azimuth criteria) for each incremental shift. An analysis of the peaks in total matching records, when plotted against the relevant shift increments, is performed in order to obtain the values of the offset errors. Between the two individual stations, the relative offset in orientation is found to be 24.5 degrees, and in time to be 0.001305 days (112.75 seconds). The individual stations, as well as the triangulated data calculated from matching records, can also be calibrated using data from the South African Weather Service Lightning Detection Network (SAWSLDN). Individual station calibration indicated an offset of +6.4 degrees and 0.00575 days (496.8 seconds) for Station 1, with the offsets for Station 2 determined as +29.4 degrees and −0.000105 days (9.07 seconds). Comparison of triangulated data to SAWSLDN data yields unexpected results with regard to resultant shifts, which may point to an error or anomaly in the triangulation calculations. A detailed analysis of the storm data is contained in Appendix B of the dissertation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Queensland, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology / Robert L. Larson / Bradley J. White / Applying systems methods to cattle production requires investigators to think about whole systems when addressing study objectives. The research conducted for this dissertation emphasized studying whole systems using different methods. We studied cattle production systems through mathematical simulation and new indirect monitoring technologies. While the methods used for the research in this dissertation may be very different, all utilized systems methods to address the study objectives. Firstly, we applied systems thinking methods and developed a dynamic, deterministic systems simulation of cow-calf production over a 10-year horizon. This model was used to investigate the effects the duration of postpartum anestrus (dPPA) has on reproductive performance. A large range of dPPA have been reported, so various primiparous cow and multiparous cow dPPA were simulated. We found that increasing the dPPA for primiparous and multiparous cows had a negative impact on herd performance and that the dPPA is an important factor in determining cow-calf performance success. We then used the cow-calf simulation to explore the effects of breeding nulliparous cows prior to the rest of the herd, known as providing Heifer Lead Time (tHL). We found that increasing tHL improved herd performance, especially with longer dPPA for primiparous cows. Secondly, real-time location systems (RTLS) were used to indirectly monitor cattle behavior. These systems have been used to determine the amount of time cattle spend at eating and drinking locations. We modeled the probability of cattle participating in eating and drinking behavior when determined to be at these locations by RTLS and found that significant differences exist between individual calves and period of the day. Finally, we explored associations between bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and animal-to-animal contacts as determined by RTLS in beef cattle. We found that the probability of BRD diagnosis was associated with the amount of time 4 days’ ago that a calf was in calf-contact with calves assumed to be shedding BRD pathogens.

A distance measurement by means of phase is used in a scheme to locate a transmitter. The system consists of three antennas. There is a transmitter, that in a sense acts as a target, in terms of radar concepts. Two receivers are used to determine the distance needed to find the position of the transmitter in the 2D plane. The software LabVIEW is used in this study. The cable lengths are adapted to the measurement.

Rising infection rates in healthcare is a global issue that causes complications for the patient, extended hospital stay, financial difficulties, and even death. One of the crucial factors that reduce those infections is better hand hygiene. Due to the lack of automated systems that can help monitoring hand hygiene compliance and reporting on collected data, some hospitals use direct observations, surveys, dispensers usage measurements and other such methods to monitor the compliance of care providers. This thesis proposes an alternative system that takes advantage of emerging off-the-shelf infrastructures in hospitals, and in particular of Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) and intelligent hand sanitizer dispensers. Our RTLS-based system improves upon the current methods by enabling interactions with care providers through notifications when they do not execute expected hand hygiene actions during care processes, even for fine-grained location situations and by introducing the concept of intelligent dispensers. RHMNS (RTLS-based Hand Hygiene Monitoring and Notification System) has two approaches (time-based and activation-based) that are sharing the same structure but they are different in their way of deciding on taken or missed hand hygiene opportunities. RHMNS also provides informative reports about hand hygiene compliance and trends.

No description available.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / November 04-07, 1991 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / Recent advances in acoustic detection and array processing have led to a new, state of the art, Sonobuoy Missile Impact Location System (SMILS). This system was developed for the 4950th Test Wing by E-Systems and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory to support ballistic missile testing in broad ocean areas. The hardware and software required to perform the SMILS mission were developed in two different areas: 1) The flight system, installed aboard the Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft (ARIA), which provides everything necessary to guide the aircraft to the target area of Deep Ocean Transponders (DOTs), deploy sonobuoys, recover signals from the sonobuoys, and to process the recovered signals. The sonobuoy positions and impact locations of reentry vehicles are determined aboard the aircraft in real-time by telemetering the acoustic signals sent from the sonobuoys via Radio Frequency (RF) link to the aircraft. These acoustic signals are also recorded on analog tape in the aircraft. 2) The Post Mission Analysis System (PMAS), located at the 4950th Test Wing, processes the analog tapes recorded by the aircraft to do more sophisticated Processing than that performed on the aircraft, providing higher resolution of impact times and positions. This paper addressees the theory of PMAS operation and the specific approach used to perform automated acoustic detection of both narrow and wide band acoustic signals. It also addressees the processing technique employed to determine sonobuoy navigation and impact scoring.

Long wait times are a global issue in the healthcare sector, particularly in Canada. Despite numerous research findings on wait time management, the issue persists. This is partly because for a given hospital, the data required to conduct wait times analysis is currently scattered across various information systems. Moreover, such data is usually not accurate (because of possible human errors), imprecise and late. The whole situation contributes to the current state of wait times. This thesis proposes a location-aware business process management system for real-time care process monitoring. More precisely, the system enables an improved visibility of process execution by gathering, as processes execute, accurate and granular process information including wait time measurements. The major contributions of this thesis include an architecture for the system, a prototype taking advantages of commercial real-time location system combined with a business process management system to accurately measure wait times, as well as a case study based on a real cardiology process from an Ontario hospital.

Long wait times are a global issue in the healthcare sector, particularly in Canada. Despite numerous research findings on wait time management, the issue persists. This is partly because for a given hospital, the data required to conduct wait times analysis is currently scattered across various information systems. Moreover, such data is usually not accurate (because of possible human errors), imprecise and late. The whole situation contributes to the current state of wait times. This thesis proposes a location-aware business process management system for real-time care process monitoring. More precisely, the system enables an improved visibility of process execution by gathering, as processes execute, accurate and granular process information including wait time measurements. The major contributions of this thesis include an architecture for the system, a prototype taking advantages of commercial real-time location system combined with a business process management system to accurately measure wait times, as well as a case study based on a real cardiology process from an Ontario hospital.

This thesis is focused on explanation of RFID technology. The first part analyses its historical development, describes the basic elements needed for its operation and standards enabling its spread into the supplier-customer chains. Furthermore are summarized its common applications such as systems for real-time location, traceability and identification of persons. Finally is summarized its usage in particular economic sectors. The end of the thesis is focused on suitable procedures for implementation of RFID technology into the enterprise, with respect to a feasibility of the project, which is determined in the initial study based on the methodology MMDIS.