This thesis examines the use of motion detection and analysis systems to detect falls and repetitive motion patterns of at-risk individuals. Three classes of motion are examined: Activities of daily living (ADL), falls, and repetitive motion. This research exposes a simple relationship between ADL and non-ADL movement, and shows how to use Principal Component Analysis and a kNN classifier to tell the 2 classes of motion apart with 100% sensitivity and specificity. It also identifies a more complex relationship between falls and repetitive motion, which both produce bodily accelerations exceeding 3G but differ with regard to their periodicity. This simplifies the classification problem of falls versus repetitive motion when taking into account that their data representations are similar except that repetitive motion displays a high degree of periodicity as compared to falls. / by Clyde Carryl. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Submitted by JOSIANE SANTOS DE OLIVEIRA (josianeso) on 2018-05-08T16:39:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Daniel de Souza Mota_.pdf: 688791 bytes, checksum: 9de093a3abbe129953d4392949dc16b9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-05-08T16:39:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Daniel de Souza Mota_.pdf: 688791 bytes, checksum: 9de093a3abbe129953d4392949dc16b9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-01-10 / Nenhuma / A presente dissertaçãotem por objetivo abordar o temada reflexão moral no escrito político de Kant sobre A Paz Perpétua. O trabalho parte de uma abordagemanalítica e interpretativada filosofia moral de Kant, especialmente desenvolvida pela Fundamentação da Metafísica dos Costumes, com algumas incursõesna Crítica da Razão Pura,para, em seguida, por em destaque o seu desdobramento na reflexão sobre a filosofia política que discorre sobre os seus fins, sua estrutura e os meios para alcançar a paz entre as Nações. Para tanto, são trabalhados osconceitossobre a compreensão da moral em Kant como ovalor da boa vontade, a lei moral e as fórmulas do dever, destaca-se a seguir a necessidade da paz permanente: como os argumentos para a paz e a ideia de cosmopolitismo esses argumentos trarão sustentação moral sobre a paz perpétua, Kant entendequea paz permanente é umprocesso a ser desenvolvido ao longo da caminhada humana, tendo como meta a construção do sujeito autônomo e moral, portanto, livre. O sujeito da paz deve constituir-se conformetais preceitos, garantidos por meio de uma moralprimorosa que lhe tire do estadodamenoridade e lhe conduza à maioridade,em busca de um Estado cosmopolita, que lhe garanta a paz permanentemente. Segundo a teoria kantiana, a sociedade não poderia ter outra constituição que não fosse republicana -por estar fundada sobre princípios de liberdade, de dependência de uma legislação comum e de igualdade dos cidadãos entre si. Quando sujeito e Estado estiverem em plena harmonia, onde não haja injustiças nem privilégios, estaráda mesma forma, se descortinando o caminho para a implantação do que Kant nominou Estado das Nações. E, a partir deste, quiçá para a construção do Estado Mundial Cosmoético. / This dissertation has as objective to approach the issue of the moral reflection in Kant’s political writing about Perpetual Peace. The study arise of an analytical and interpretative approachof Kant’s moral philosophy, specially developed by Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, includingsome inroads in Critique of Pure Reason, in order to, henceforth, highlight his unfolding in the reflection about the political philosophy which expatiate on its aims, structure and the means to reach the peace between Nations. For this purpose, the concepts about the moral comprehension in Kant are worked as the value of the goodwillthe moral law and the formulas of duty, stand out subsequently the necessity of permanent peace: such as the arguments for the peace and the idea of cosmopolitanism, these considerations will bring moral sustentation about the perpetual peace. Kant believes that the permanent peace is the process to be developed in the human along journey, seeking the construction of the autonomous and moral subject, therefore, a free individual. The peace subject needs to be constituted according to such precepts, guaranteed through of an exquisite moral that take away it of the minority state and conduct it to the maturity,in quest for a cosmopolitan State, whom guarantees the peace permanently. Pursuant to Kantian theory, the society could not have other constitution that does not be republican-for being funded on liberty principles, of dependency in a communal legislation and of equality among citizens itself. When the subject and the State are in full-fledge harmony, where do not have injustices nether privileges, it will be, in the same way, uncovering the highway for the implantation of what Kant named as State of Nation. Having this in mind, perhaps, this could be concretized for the construction of a Cosmoethics Mundial State.

The aim of this dissertation thesis is to compile a systematic methodical approach for fixed assets as a national methodology. It focuses on stocks, consumption of fixed capital and capital services. The thesis is divided into three parts and six chapters. Chapter one and chapter two are used as a general theoretical base for chapters 3 to 5. Chapter 3 is based on a standard approach to the perpetual inventory method (PIM) as it is used in the Czech Republic. Chapter 4 is devoted to capital services and to an alternative approach to PIM. It is not used in the Czech Republic until now. Estimates are an integral part of the chapter. Chapter 5 describes capital services for other non-market producers, both methodology and estimates are covered. The impact of the change of the so-called cost method used for the estimates of output of other non-market producers on gross domestic product is calculated. The change consists in the substitution of consumption of fixed capital by capital services. Chapter 6 summarizes and explains the consequences in terms of national accounts.

<p>The first purpose of this study is to examine if democratic aid is a statistically and/or substantially significant determinant of democratic development among semi-democratic states. The second purpose is to discuss the effects of democratic aid in light of the theory of ‘democratic peace’, and the debate on whether exogenous or endogenous factors are primary for democratic development. The research question is: how much, if at all, has democratic aid contributed to democratic development among semi-democratic states from 2000 to 2004?</p><p>The thesis is delimited to observing the total population of states that were semi-democratic in the year 1999, i.e. 56 countries. Moreover, it only detects the potential impact of democratic aid over one five-year period, namely 2000-2004.</p><p>Data from the Freedom House Index (FHI) has been used to distinguish states with semi-democratic regimes from states with other regime-types, and, moreover, to construct two indicators of the dependent variable. The utilized dataset on democratic aid is provided by the Creditor Reporting System (CRS), issued by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Furthermore, in order to assess the effects of democratic aid, a multiple regression model is employed that controls for nine other variables which have been found to have significant impacts on democratic development in relevant previous research.</p><p>The conclusion is that democratic aid neither had a statistically nor a substantially significant impact on democratic development of semi-democratic states from 2000 to 2004. Thus, it does not strengthen the ‘exogenous standpoint’ for democratic development, and it does not appear to contribute to an expansion of ‘democratic peace’. However, due to a number of factors, it is acknowledged that more research is required in order to assess the effects of democratic aid more adequately.      </p><p> </p>

The perpetual structural pavement design is currently being explored for usage in Canada and worldwide. This thick structural design can provide many potential benefits but it also has associated costs. Cold Canadian winters and warm summers impact pavement performance and make pavement design challenging. This is further complicated by a heavy dependence on trucks to transport imports and exports. Consequently, most Canadian roads are subjected to rapid deterioration due to high fatigue stresses and rapid growth of the traffic loads. The concept of a perpetual pavement design was raised to overcome the limitation of structural capacity of the conventional pavement designs. The concept of perpetual pavement was explained and introduced in this thesis and the benefits behind the perpetual pavement construction were studied. The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) and the Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology (CPATT) joined their efforts in partnership with Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Ontario Hot Mix Producers Association (OHMPA), Stantec Consultant, McAsphalt and others to construct three test sections on the Highway 401. The goal was to monitor and evaluate the performance of three different pavement structural designs. Performance evaluation of test section was performed by evaluating the expected ability of pavement section to withstand the traffic loads and climate impact throughout the design life of that pavement section with minimum damage. The minimum damage is expressed as low vertical pressure on top of subgrade, low shear stresses in the surface course and low tensile strain at the bottom of asphalt layers. Perpetual pavement design with Rich Bottom Mix (RBM) layer, perpetual pavement design without RBM and a conventional pavement design were constructed and instrumented with various types of sensors. These are capable of monitoring the tensile strain in asphalt layers, vertical pressure on the subgrade surface, moisture in the subgrade material and the temperature profile in the pavement sections. The test section construction, sensor installation and preliminary modeling are all part of this thesis. Preliminary structural evaluation was performed by analyzing the three designs using a Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) model representing the three pavement designs constructed on the Highway 401. In addition, the WESLEA for Windows software was used to validate the long life performance of the perpetual pavement design. Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) was also performed for the perpetual and conventional pavement designs to evaluate the cost benefits associated with pavement designs for 70 year analysis period. In addition, the perpetual Pavement design philosophy for moderate and low traffic volume roads was also examined in this research. This pavement design involved creating a complete comparison and validation of the benefits of using perpetual asphalt pavements versus the conventional pavements in all road types and traffic categories. Structural evaluation of the pavement sections in moderate and low traffic volume roads was performed. In addition, LCCA was implemented to validate the perpetual and conventional structural pavement designs in moderate and low traffic volume roads.

This dissertation focuses the attention toward inventors and key actors involved in product development projects. The study focuses on how a new product development process is carried out operationally and strategically in small, technology-driven firms. The study is based on findings from four case studies among small aircraft manufacturers, two from Sweden, one from Germany, and one from northern Finland. By using one of the Swedish cases as a platform, issues concerning the development process emerged and were summarized in sixteen statemens. The statements were then used as themes and checkpoints when gathering information from the three additional cases. The analysis has been made in two steps; first, a comparison between the platform case and the additional case were made based on the statements, second, issues emerging from all four cases are discussed. The dissertation introduces perpetual product development as a terminology suitable for explaining the behaviour found in the studied firms. A foundation for perpetual product development is presented based on both actor and process characteristics. The actors are technology devotees with numerous ideas to pursue. Their technological interest result in a preference for the first part of the development process since they experience a higher degree of technological freedom from start. Once the product starts to materialize, the actors' possibility of incorporating new technical gadgets diminishes. As a consequence, a weaker interest for the exploitation/launch phase is present. The actors also have a time conception that differs from what is normally assumed. They do not consider speeding-to-market important, since the actors prefer a superior product than being first out on the market. Their attitude toward speeding-to- market also demand actors with a high degree of stamina, since it often involves projects carried out over a long period of time. Due to the individual characteristics described above, the process is technology-driven. The process also experience a fuzzy start and culmination. The actors will continue to make adjustments to the construction even after the product has been launched, if they believe it can be technically improved. A consequence regarding the way the actors are managing their firm is that there is a tendency to regard the product development as a leisure-time activity. In view of the findings, it can be established that each case has to be evaluated on its own merits, with regard to the central actors' personal objectives. / digitalisering@umu

The perpetual structural pavement design is currently being explored for usage in Canada and worldwide. This thick structural design can provide many potential benefits but it also has associated costs. Cold Canadian winters and warm summers impact pavement performance and make pavement design challenging. This is further complicated by a heavy dependence on trucks to transport imports and exports. Consequently, most Canadian roads are subjected to rapid deterioration due to high fatigue stresses and rapid growth of the traffic loads. The concept of a perpetual pavement design was raised to overcome the limitation of structural capacity of the conventional pavement designs. The concept of perpetual pavement was explained and introduced in this thesis and the benefits behind the perpetual pavement construction were studied. The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) and the Centre for Pavement and Transportation Technology (CPATT) joined their efforts in partnership with Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Ontario Hot Mix Producers Association (OHMPA), Stantec Consultant, McAsphalt and others to construct three test sections on the Highway 401. The goal was to monitor and evaluate the performance of three different pavement structural designs. Performance evaluation of test section was performed by evaluating the expected ability of pavement section to withstand the traffic loads and climate impact throughout the design life of that pavement section with minimum damage. The minimum damage is expressed as low vertical pressure on top of subgrade, low shear stresses in the surface course and low tensile strain at the bottom of asphalt layers. Perpetual pavement design with Rich Bottom Mix (RBM) layer, perpetual pavement design without RBM and a conventional pavement design were constructed and instrumented with various types of sensors. These are capable of monitoring the tensile strain in asphalt layers, vertical pressure on the subgrade surface, moisture in the subgrade material and the temperature profile in the pavement sections. The test section construction, sensor installation and preliminary modeling are all part of this thesis. Preliminary structural evaluation was performed by analyzing the three designs using a Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) model representing the three pavement designs constructed on the Highway 401. In addition, the WESLEA for Windows software was used to validate the long life performance of the perpetual pavement design. Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) was also performed for the perpetual and conventional pavement designs to evaluate the cost benefits associated with pavement designs for 70 year analysis period. In addition, the perpetual Pavement design philosophy for moderate and low traffic volume roads was also examined in this research. This pavement design involved creating a complete comparison and validation of the benefits of using perpetual asphalt pavements versus the conventional pavements in all road types and traffic categories. Structural evaluation of the pavement sections in moderate and low traffic volume roads was performed. In addition, LCCA was implemented to validate the perpetual and conventional structural pavement designs in moderate and low traffic volume roads.

No description available.

A new methodology for innovative product development based on the application of sustainability principles for the entire life-cycle of a product and beyond is developed. This involves an analysis of multi-life cycle material flow leading towards perpetual life products, making it truly sustainable. In order to achieve the function of such a sustainable product, it has to fulfill the concept of 6R (Recover, Reuse, Recycle, Redesign, Reduce and Remanufacture), which are composed of 6 stages of material flow in a products life, as opposed to the traditional 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recover) concept. We apply the 6R concept in designing a new aluminum beverage can with much enhanced sustainability factors, especially in recycling processes.

Hitting a Major League fastball pitch may be the most difficult task in the sports realm. Anecdotal evidence suggests that certain individuals are able to perform this task reasonably well, perhaps because of superior sensitivity to changes in motion. However, the substantial lack of research investigating detection and assessment of changes in motion renders this conclusion problematic (Kelling, 2008). Two experiments, using expert and novice participants, assessed sensitivity to changes in motion. Experts for these studies were defined as current members of the Georgia Institute of Technology Yellow Jacket softball team. Experimental procedures included assessments of capabilities in batting and motion tracking tasks. Experiment One presented participants with recorded softball pitches thrown from a pitching machine. Experiment Two required participants to predict multiple landing locations for incomplete motion paths resulting from a single main target exploding into additional shrapnel pieces. Results suggest minimal expertise effects in the softball task with high performance by all participants, while distinct expertise effects exist in the shrapnel task. The motion tracking task resulted in fewer errors by experts, while all participants demonstrated a significantly large drop in performance with increasing number of shrapnel pieces. Findings from this work not only have application to the sport of softball, but are critical for identifying the people's capability to detect and assess changes in motion.