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It has been argued for many years that if applied effectively, information can be a valuable organisational resource; indeed, many contend that it is the lifeblood of the organisation. This view is supported by the academic literature, which identifies a wide range of factors that influence perceptions of strategic information value. For example, information quality and information accessibility have both been widely discussed. The use of information for enabling organisational change in organisations, for marketing activities, and for strategic planning have also been the subject of academic investigation. However, whilst the literature in this domain is fairly extensive, it is largely theoretical, rather than empirical, in nature and it also tends to be highly fragmented, addressing narrow aspects of value. The primary aim of this study was to undertake a holistic exploration of the factors affecting the perceived value of strategic information, using rigorous empirical methods. Moreover, the research sought to address the question of why organisations typically fail to treat information as a formal asset, even though they perceive it to be valuable resource. To explore these broad objectives, a three-phase approach was adopted combining the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods of research. More specifically, the study commenced with a questionnaire-based survey that was designed to validate the initial conceptual framework. This was followed by a phase of the research, which utilised detailed case studies in eight major UK based commercial organisations, to explore how perceptions of information value were affected by the implementation of data warehouses. The final phase of the study sought to validate the research findings and explore their wider implications, through the utilisation of on-line focus groups. The research project has produced several key findings. It has provided evidence that information accessibility and information quality are critical constructs that impact the perceived value of information. It has confirmed that a number of business activities, such as marketing, are highly dependent on the use of information. It has suggested that improvements in the accessibility and quality of information can lead to the improved effectiveness of these business activities, and that this can lead to the attainment of more substantial measurable business benefits. Finally, the research has also suggested that although most organisations consider information to be valuable, few give serious consideration to formally classing information as an asset, and none appear to measure the value of their information assets. It is believed that this study has made a number of significant contributions to the literature. It has provided a holistic view of the dimensions that can impact the perceived value of strategic information. Most importantly, from an academic perspective, it has produced empirically based evidence on the relationships between a wide-range of dimensions and the perceived value of information, on attitudes to information being considered an asset, and the actions organisations take to measure the value of information assets. It has been argued that without a clear understanding of the value of information, it is difficult to manage it appropriately, and consequently it is also difficult to ultimately attain the value of the information. By providing afar clearer and holistic picture of the factors affecting the value of information, coupled with many important new insights about the management of information, the results of this study should help to ensure that organisations can fully realise the value of their strategic information resources.

This thesis is concerned with measuring and predicting the performance and effectiveness of a data fusion process. Its central proposition is that information entropy may be used to quantify concisely the effectiveness of the process. The personal and original contribution to that subject which is contained in this thesis is summarised as follows: The mixture of performance behaviours that occur in a data fusion system are described and modelled as the states of an ergodic Markov process. An new analytic approach to combining the entropy of discrete and continuous information is defined. A new simple and accurate model of data association performance is proposed. A new model is proposed for the propagation of information entropy in an minimum mean square combination of track estimates. A new model is proposed for the propagation of the information entropy of object classification belief as new observations are incorporated in a recursive Bayesian classifier. A new model to quantify the information entropy of the penalty of ignorance is proposed. New formulations of the steady state solution of the matrix Riccati equation to model tracker performance are proposed.

This thesis investigated the relationship between the three-dimensional kinematics of the human back and spinal pathology. This required the development of a system capable of the in vivo measurement of spinal movement non-invasively and in three-dimensions. The opto-electronic CODA-3 Scanner proved unsatisfactory in this respect. The electro-magnetic 3SPACE Isotrak, however, was found to be an accurate and reliable system during a study of twisting in flexed postures. Available axial rotation was significantly increased in some degree of sagittal flexion suggesting that this may be a mechanism for intervertebral disc injury. At high degrees of sagittal flexion a reduction in available axial rotation was noted. In vitro tests on isolated lumbar motion segments confirmed the increase in axial rotation available in flexed postures shown in vivo, this was presumed to be due to an opening of the lumbar zygapophysial joints. Mechanical testing of lumbar interspinous and supraspinous ligaments showed them to be active only in the extremes of sagittal flexion and hence that they could be responsible for the reduction in axial rotation seen in vivo. The 3SPACE Isotrak was used in a clinical study of 80 normal and 43 pathologic subjects. In the normals ranges of motion were, in general, reduced with increasing age in both males and females although a significant increase in sagittal flexion occurred with increasing age in females. Male mobility significantly exceeded female in sagittal flexion but female tended to exceed male in extension, lateral bend and axial rotation. Opposite axial rotation occurred consistently upon lateral bend and vice versa, flexion also occurred on lateral bend but not axial rotation. There was widespread disruption to the primary and coupled movements of the back pain patients when compared to normal movement patterns but there was no clear distinction between the kinematic movement patterns of discrete patient groups. The small numbers in these patient groups warrant a further, more detailed, clinical study.

No description available.

Hip fracture trials have used a wide range of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) suggesting a lack of consensus among clinicians on what are considered the most relevant functional outcomes. We conducted a systematic review to identify the outcomes used in hip fracture randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We hypothesized that there had been an increase in numbers of PROs over time and the health status measure, SF-36, would be used the most. A database search and screening yielded 86 original trials. The mean Detsky score (and standard error) for quality was: 75.8% ± 1.76%. There was a trend in the increase of functional outcome; however, the SF-36 was used only in (10 out of 86) 11.6% trials. Both the ADL-Katz Index and HHS have lower respondent burden than the SF36 which may contribute to their frequent use in hip RCTs. There is a lack of applicable measures suitable for patients with dementia.

The majority of North Americans suffer from foot problems at some point in their lives. These foot problems can be divided into three domains ranging from mismatch on healthy feet, to small injuries and deformities and extreme sensitivity and deformities. A solution to these problems is the development of corrective shoes. The design of corrective shoes involves three steps: first, the measurement or digitization of the foot to create a model; second, the manipulation of the model and last creation; third, constructing the shoe with the last. This work focuses on developing a foot digitization system or scanner for each of the three problem domains. A good digitization paves the way for development of foot manipulation algorithms and last manufacturing techniques that can be applied to develop well fitting comfortable shoes. Three scanning methods were investigated in this work. The first was designed for scanning near normal feet and automatically building a 3D approximation of the plantar surface of the foot. This digitizer was successfully built and demonstrated. The second scanner was designed to scan the entire 3D surface of the foot. This scanner was built and used to extract data for building complete 3D models of the foot. The last scanner was designed to measure and modify the pressure distribution of the loaded foot on a controllable surface. This scanner is more capable in creating an optimal corrective shoe, but is more expensive. A pin matrix design was selected and subsystem prototypes were successfully produced and tested. The first two developed designs provide low cost solutions for modeling feet, for the purposes of corrective shoe and insole creation. The third design explores a method of measuring foot pressure and distributing it via control of a 3D surface upon which the foot is supported.

The Canadian Penning Trap Mass Spectrometer (CPTMS) located at the ATLAS (Argonne Tandem Linear Accelerator System) facility of Argonne National Laboratory makes precise mass measurements on both stable and unstable isotopes. A 252Cf fission source has been used as the ion source for the unstable isotope mass measurements. This thesis concentrates on the mass measurements of the fission fragments from the 252Cf fission source using the CPTMS system. It is the first time that the masses of such fission fragments have been measured with a mass spectrometer. The masses of 108Tc, 108Ru, 109Ru and 110Ru have been measured to a precision of 10-7. The results have been compared to exiting mass measurements and the Atomic Mass Evaluation (AME2003). In general good agreement between this work and existing data is realized. A few discrepancies are identified.

I have developed an analytical method for the determination of molecular hydrogen in seawater. It is based on the change of hydrogen concentration in a 30 cc. volume of air as it is equilibrated with a one-liter sample of seawater. The change in hydrogen concentration in the air is measured using a gas chromatograph with a helium ionization detector. The system has been utilized aboard ship on several occasions and has been proven to be both dependable and readily transportable. The accuracy of a single measurement is limited to about plus or minus fifteen per cent by the analytical precision of the method. The precision is limited by the random errors in the GC analysis. Shipboard and laboratory experiments have shown that contamination of near-surface and near-bottom samples can be a major problem unless special precautions are taken. / Graduation date: 1978

Graduation date: 1986