This thesis investigates two architectures and compares their suitability for selective application and user differentiation in sensor networks. A hierarchical architecture consisting of more capable cluster heads surrounded by weaker nodes is compared to a flat architecture of equally powerful nodes. In both architectures there exists a logical overlay network that connects the nodes, depending on the application and user. Furthermore, a broadcast encryption scheme is proposed to aid in distributing keys to nodes for secure communication and to maintain these restricted groups. / applikation och användar differentiering i trådlösa sensor nätverk. En hierarkisk arkitekturbestående av kraftfullare sensor noder omgiven av mindre kraftfulla sensor noder jämförsmed en platt arkitektur bestående av lika kraftfulla sensor noder. I båda arkitekturer existerarett logiskt lager ovanpå stacken som kopplar noder beroende på applikation och användare,helt oberoende av geografisk placering. Utöver det, bör en nyckel management schema användas till att distribuera nycklar tillnoderna för säker kommunikation och att bibehålla dessa slutna grupper.

In order to protect the security of the commercial information, personnel information, military information, governmental information on the Internet, the claimed identity should be authenticated. Now there are three main security authentication methods: first: using user PIN, such as password; second: using physical key, such as USBKey; third: using biological authentication technology, such as fingerprint, iris, voice and palm prints, etc. Because of the uniqueness, invariance, and ubiquity properties of biometric authentication, biometric authentication is becoming popular, especially fingerprint recognition. However, when the fingerprint recognition information is transported on the public channel, it may be attacked, such as the fingerprint information is stolen. So a cryptology mechanism is needed to protect the fingerprint recognition information. In the field of embedded security authentication system, the traditional hardware implementation mechanism, such as ASIC, can satisfy requires of functions and performances, but it is not configurable, flexible, and easy to expand; the traditional software implementation mechanism, such as general purpose processor, is flexible, but the cost and the power consumption are higher than hardware implementation. In order to take the advantages of biometrics, cryptology, hardware implementation, and software implementation, a hardware-software cooperating embedded authentication system based on shared-key authentication and fingerprint verification is proposed. First, this system authenticates the identities of client and server by shared-key authentication, creates the current encrypt key and hash key, and then authenticates the identity of them via fingerprint recognition. During fingerprint recognition, the information of fingerprint is not needed to transmit over the public channel, so the security of fingerprint is increased. Theoretic analysis and experiments show that, this system reach very high authentication rate and security. This system can resist replay attack, server template attack, device template attack, effectively.

<p>  </p> <p>The transportation sector is witnessing rapid development of autonomous vehicle (AV) technology. While an AV can be more energy efficient than a conventional human-driven vehicle, their environmental impacts at the fleet and city level could be either significantly better or worse than the traditional systems, depending on how people use them – adopting AVs as privately-owned AVs (PAV) or centrally-managed shared AVs (SAV) will result in very different fleet size, vehicle-miles-travelled (VMT), and carbon emissions. To understand the environmental impacts of AVs at the city level, it is critical to consider who are likely to adopt which types of AVs, their travel demands, and the associated AV operation. Previous studies evaluating the potential impacts of AVs on the environment are limited by the existing travel demand models, which do not have sociodemographic information linked to the travel demands to support modeling of AV adoption or only generate trip origin and destination at the zonal level that is insufficient to support modeling of shared AV use. Additionally, existing research mainly focused on SAV systems and did not consider the potential competition between SAV and PAV. It is necessary to compare the system performance between the privately-owned AV system and the centrally-managed shared AV system and under the scenarios that both systems co-exist to inform AV system development. Furthermore, although AVs can help reduce fleet size through shared use, each vehicle will be used more intensively due to empty VMT, resulting in acceleration of vehicle replacement and increased need for vehicle production. To fully quantify the environmental impacts of a city’s AV system, it is also important to take a life-cycle perspective, considering not only vehicle use but also upstream vehicle manufacturing and downstream vehicle disposal with fleet replacement. </p> <p>To address these gaps, this work proposed an integrated agent-based model to quantify the environmental impacts of PAV and SAV. The integrated model includes four key components: 1) a travel demand generation model that links high resolution individual and household travel demand with socio-demographics information, 2) an AV adoption model that evaluates individual’s and household’s likelihood to accept AV and preference to use PAV, SAV or conventional vehicle, 3) an AV operation model to simulate the system performance of different AV fleets, and 4) an AV life cycle model that assesses different AV systems’ emissions considering vehicle replacement. Applying the proposed integrated model to a case study of Miami, the results have presented that the existing studies may overestimate AV systems’ environmental benefits, due to lack of travel demand data that can support the proposed integrated modeling, inconsideration of individual and household AV adoption decisions, and/or biased evaluation that does not account for all phases in AV system’s life-cycle. Case study results have showed that SAVs are more environmentally beneficial than PAVs but are less likely to be adopted by travelers and households, due to low cost of PAV use based on existing AV survey findings and current AV pricing knowledge. To promote SAV adoption to gain more positive environmental impacts, it is crucial to optimize SAV’s vehicle and system design to reduce service fee, waiting time, and in-vehicle value of time. The case study also found that due to more frequent vehicle replacement resulted from more intensively vehicle utilization, an AV systems’ environmental benefits from the operation phase can be counterbalanced by the impacts from other life-cycle phases. To achieve a life-cycle emission breakeven point, SAVs and PAVs need to improve fuel efficiency during the operation phase by 5% and 16% or reduce per-vehicle manufacture and disposal emissions by 36% and 5%. The proposed models and findings of this work can inform decision making for SAV operators, policy makers, and transportation planners. </p>

Seit etwa drei Jahren wird in Deutschland eine intensive fachliche, öffentliche und politische Diskussion darüber geführt, ob das sogenannte Shared Space-Prinzip in Klein-, Mittel- und Großstädten zur Verbesserung der Verkehrsverhältnisse beitragen kann. Die öffentliche Darstellung von Shared Space wird dabei von deren Befürwortern oft in hohem Maß überzeichnet. Zudem werden inzwischen unterschiedlichste Lösungen undifferenziert unter dem Schlagwort Shared Space zusammengeworfen. Dies führt im schlimmsten Fall dazu, dass Shared Space als vermeintliches Allheilmittel für sämtliche innerstädtischen Verkehrsprobleme interpretiert und als Maßnahme zur generellen Verbesserung der Verkehrssicherheit angepriesen wird. Die Unfallforschung der Versicherer (UDV) tritt daher dafür ein, die häufi g sehr emotional geführte Diskussion um Shared Space auf eine sachliche und fundierte Grundlage zu stellen. Was ist eigentlich Shared Space? Als Shared Space (frei übersetzt: Gemeinsam genutzter Raum) wird eine harmonisch geteilte und konfl iktfreie Nutzung eines weitgehend beschilderungs- und regelungsfreien Straßenraums durch alle Verkehrsteilnehmer bezeichnet. Die mehr raum- als verkehrsplanerische Gestaltungsphilosophie basiert auf städtebaulichen Maßnahmen zur Aufwertung der Aufenthaltsqualität (Aufhebung der baulichen Trennung von Fahrbahn und Gehweg, hohe Gestaltungsqualität) und beinhaltet verkehrstechnische Maßnahmen in Form einer weitgehenden Deregulierung (Abbau von Verkehrszeichen und Ampeln). Durch einen selbsterklärenden Straßenraum sollen alle Verkehrsteilnehmer zu einem sozialen Miteinander erzogen werden. Dabei soll sich der motorisierte Verkehr als Gast im Straßenraum fühlen, was zu erhöhter Vorsicht und mehr Sicherheit beitragen soll. Damit dieses Prinzip der Sicherheit durch Verunsicherung aber funktioniert, ist ein entsprechendes Verkehrsnetz erforderlich. Das so genannte schnelle Netz dient der Verbindung zwischen den langsamen Netzen. Im schnellen Netz ist der Kraftfahrzeugverkehr dominant, im langsamen Netz sind es Fußgänger und Radfahrer. Zur Philosophie von Shared Space gehört zudem ein kommunikativer Planungsprozess, der alle Beteiligten zusammen bringt. Shared Space ist also ein umfassender und vielschichtiger Planungsansatz, der weit mehr beinhaltet als die Umwandlung einer Straße in eine Mischverkehrsfläche.

We are currently living under a world wide COVID-19 pandemic. Due to restrictions in peoples every day life, people getting ill and dying there might be a risk of increase of mental illness in society. The purpose of this thesis is to take a closer look at how Swedish public libraries are using methods like shared reading and bibliotherapy as a way to cope with mental illness within society. What do librarians think about the possibility of using reading as a way to heal mental illness? What do they think about skill development within shared reading and bibliotherapy, and what are the opportunities for them to gain that development? What role does the librarian play in all this? Interviews with 4 librarians working within bigger and smaller city public libraries have been conducted as a method. 2 of them are working with shared reading on a daily basis, 1 of which is working within custody/prison enviroment whilst the remaining 2 do not have any experience in working with shared reading nor bibliotherapy.Theory used for the thesis analysis is David Russel and Caroline Shrode’s concepts of identification, catharsis and insight. The analysis also makes use of Elizabeth Brewster’s development of said theory and the use of 4 different kinds of bibliotherapy namely informative, escapist, social and emotional bibliotherapy. Results show how these theories are implemented in practice when used by librarians in order to help changing values, thinking and behaviour amongst inmates and people suffereing from mental health issues. Also, results show how libraries and other organizations like the public healthcare currently co-operate and how they can develop their co-operation for a future in which we might see an increase of mental health issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A phenomenological research study was conducted to examine teacher perceptions of elementary principals’ behaviors affecting school culture and climate. The researcher gathered data from participant interviews. Participants were selected using purposeful sampling of teachers identified by their principals as meeting study criteria. The schools in which teachers were selected were also chosen using purposeful sampling based on superintendents’ perceptions of positive principal influence on school culture and climate. Data analysis provided insight to the researcher into the phenomenon being explored in this study. Teachers were asked to participate in an individual interview with the researcher and provide answers to open ended questions regarding their perceptions of their principals’ influence on culture and climate in the school. The findings of the study were aligned with the literature regarding principal influence on school culture and climate. There was a clear relationship between principal behaviors and positive school culture and climate based on teacher perceptions. Three themes emerged as common in the data including relationships, communication, and shared leadership.

Submitted thesis deals with political, institutional and normative roots of the Czech-Saxon cooperation and proceeds from two basic presumptions, firstly that the Czech Republic and Free State of Saxony are "sentenced" to mutual cooperation thanks to their geographical location and historical nearness and secondly that this "necessity" of cooperation was noticeably supported by an extraordinary approach of Saxony's Minister-Presidents Mr. Kurt Biedenkopf and Mr. Georg Milbradt and their shared vision of a cross-border region in the heart of Europe. This thesis was supported by a series of interviews with politicians from both sides of the border as well as by primary sources. It could not be naturally forgotten that such an international cooperation is based on daily engagement of individuals as well as on political decisions constituting environment for this cooperation - both these elements work basically on grounds of a communicating vessels principle. The thesis is divided into three main chapters - the first one provides normative and institutional background of bilateral relations, second crucial part deals with key factors of the mutual cooperation namely activities of Minister-Presidents Biedenkopf and Milbradt and finally the third part provides an overview of representative topics of...

Background: Hypertension affects 33% of Americans while type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease (AD) affect 10% of Americans, respectively. Ryanodine receptor 3 gene (RYR3) codes for the RYR which functions to release stored endoplasmic reticulum calcium ions (Ca2+) to increase intracellular Ca2+ concentration. Increasing studies demonstrate that altered levels of intracellular Ca2+ affect cardiac contraction, insulin secretion, and neurodegeneration. In this study, we investigated associations of the RYR3 genetic variants with hypertension, AD, and diabetes. Methods: Family data sets were used to explore association of RYR3 polymorphisms with risk and age at onset (AAO) of hypertension, diabetes, and AD. Results: Family-based association tests using generalized estimating equations (FBAT-GEE) showed several unique or shared disease-1 associated variants in the RYR3 gene. Three single nuclear polymorphisms (SNPs; rs2033610, rs2596164, and rs2278317) are significantly associated with risk for hypertension, diabetes, and AD. Two SNPs (rs4780174 and rs7498093) are significantly associated with AAO of the 3 diseases. Conclusions: RYR3 variants are associated with hypertension, diabetes, and AD. Replication of these results of this gene in these 3 complex traits may help to better understand the genetic basis of calcium-signaling gene, RYR3 in association with risk and AAO of these diseases.

This study is a study of literature which focused on the research question How can cooperative learning reduced perceived mathematics anxiety. This was conducted via a literature search in a variety of databases, such as ERC, ERIC, and finally libsearch. The searchwords that were used were connected to the reasearch question, for instance cooperative learning in mathematics and anxiety. The studies that were chosen based on relevance were then analyzed and summarized. Based on the summarization subcategories such as shared responsibility, complement each other, helping, not competing, active learning, and setbacks were established based on recurring concepts. The results were then presented based on these subcategories’ effect on perceived mathematics anxiety. The conclusion that was made was that cooperative learning can reduce mathematics anxiety by giving students an improved sense of responsibility, cooperation, and support by their peers as well as creating a less competitive environment with more focus on active learning

Automobility refers to the continued, self-perpetuating dominance of privately-owned, gasoline-powered vehicles used primarily by single occupants—a system which clearly has broad environmental and societal impacts. Despite increasing societal interest in transitions to more sustainable transportation technologies, there has been little consideration of how such innovations might challenge, maintain or support different aspects of automobility, and what that means for technology deployment, transport policy, and user practices. To bring attention to the complexity and apparent durability of the automobility system, in this paper we develop a conceptual framework that explores automobility through a categorization of frames, or shared cultural meanings. This framework moves beyond the typical focus on private, functional considerations of user choice, financial costs and time use to also consider symbolic and societal frames of automobility that exist among users, non-users, industry, policymakers and other relevant social groups. We illustrate this framework with eight particular frames of automobility that fall into four broad categories: private-functional frames such as (1) cocooning and fortressing and (2) mobile digital offices; private-symbolic frames such as (3) gender identity and (4) social status; societal-functional frames such as (5) environmental stewardship and (6) suburbanization; and societal-symbolic frames such as (7) self-sufficiency and (8) innovativeness. Finally, we start the process of discussing several transportation innovations in light of these automobility frames, namely electrified, autonomous and shared mobility—examining early evidence for which frames would be challenged or supported by such transitions. We believe that appreciation of the complex and varied frames of automobility can enrich discussion of transitions and policy relating to sustainable transportation.