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Makin, Cameron. "Primary User Obfuscation in an Incumbent Informed Spectrum Access System." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/104015.
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With a growing demand for spectrum availability, spectrum sharing has become a high-profile solution to overcrowding. In order to enable spectrum sharing between incumbent/primary and secondary users, incumbents must have spectrum protection and privacy from malicious new entrants. In this Spectrum Access System (SAS) advancement, Primary Users (PUs) are obfuscated with the efforts of the SAS and the cooperation of obedient new entrants. Further, the necessary changes to the SAS to support this privacy scheme are exposed to suggest improvements in PU privacy, Citizens Broadband Radio Service Device (CBSD)-SAS relations, and punishment for unauthorized transmission. Results show the feasibility for PU obfuscation with respect to malicious spectrum sensing users. Simulation results indicate that the obfuscation scheme can deliver location and frequency occupation privacy with 75% and 66% effectiveness respectively in a 100% efficient spectrum utilization oriented obfuscation scheme. A scheme without spectrum utilization constraint shows up to 91% location privacy effectiveness. Experiment trials indicate that the privacy tactic can be implemented on an open-source SAS, however environmental factors may degrade the tactic's performance.Master of Science
With a growing demand for spectrum availability, wireless spectrum sharing has become a high-profile solution to spectrum overcrowding. In order to enable spectrum sharing between incumbent/primary (e.g.,federal communications, naval radar, users already grandfathered into the band) and secondary users (e.g., commercial communications companies), incumbents must have spectrum protection and privacy from malicious new entrants. In this Spectrum Access System (SAS) advancement, Primary Users (PUs) are obfuscated with the efforts of the incumbent informed SAS and the cooperation of obedient new entrants. Further, the necessary changes to the SAS to support this privacy scheme are exposed to suggest improvements in PU privacy, Citizens Broadband Radio Service Device (CBSD)-SAS relations, and punishment for unauthorized transmission. Results show the feasibility of PU obfuscation with respect to malicious spectrum sensing users. Simulation results indicate that the obfuscation tactic can deliver location and frequency occupation privacy with 75% and 66% effectiveness respectively in a 100% efficient spectrum utilization oriented obfuscation scheme. A scheme without spectrum utilization constraint shows up to 91% location privacy effectiveness. Experiment trials indicate that the privacy tactic can be implemented on an open-source SAS, however environmental factors may degrade the tactic's performance.
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O'Rourke, Gareth. "Older people, personalisation and personhood : towards user informed theory." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2014. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.679953.
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Personalisation of social care for adults is a key policy objective in the UK having gained wide acceptance as essential for the empowerment of service users and as a means of making the system sustainable in the face of the increasing population demand. However, despite huge investment in 'transformational change' over the past decade there is little evidence of its effectiveness. This is particularly true of personalisation policy and practice applied to older people. Evaluative studies show poorer outcomes compared with other user groups and question effectiveness in terms of actual empowerment experienced and value for money achieved. The conditions required for what is essentially a consumerist model of personalisation are frequently stated but rarely, if ever, wholly achieved. A qualitative study of eight cases in two local authority areas in England explored older people's experience of using (or refusing) a direct payment with the aim of obtaining user perspectives to inform future policy and practice. The study was concerned with understanding the relationship between participants' personhood, or experience of 'Self , and personalised services. The locus of personalisation was found to reside within the interpersonal dynamics of helping relationships rather than control over the means of procuring services. Participants experienced personalisation when carers perceived and accommodated their 'special requirements of Self'. This was achieved in most cases despite the consumerist model of personalisation rather than because of it. In a number of cases participants and their front line carers were exposed to considerable risk and dilemma in the process. These user perspectives provide a valuable starting point for the development of an alternative theoretical framework within which existing policy and practice might be reviewed and redeveloped. Key words: Older people, personalisation, personhood, Self, direct payments.
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Hughes, Dawn Elizabeth. "Investigation of a user-informed standard to promote inclusive design of fitness equipment." Thesis, Sheffield Hallam University, 2010. http://shura.shu.ac.uk/20726/.
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This thesis describes the development of a technical standard to aid in the design of inclusive commercial fitness equipment. It was driven by the Inclusive Fitness Initiative, a charitable organisation leading the way in the mainstream delivery of an inclusive fitness culture in the UK. Confirmation of the widespread inaccessibility of existing products to disabled people is provided through a literature review, which additionally highlights the importance of considering a range of product types and impairment categories in providing a feasible design solution. The review also upholds the thesis' premise that the fitness industry's adoption of more inclusive practices is being hindered by the lack of relevant and coherent design information. With the inclusive design of mainstream commercial fitness equipment in its infancy, the work necessarily draws on predominantly qualitative and inductive investigation methods. Advocated for use in new fields, a consortium approach was used to develop an inclusive design standard in consultation with relevant stakeholder groups. Data has been drawn from 5 practical testing sessions involving 122 users examining a total of 209 products. Questionnaires have been employed to capture the needs of individuals with a range of physical, sensory and cognitive impairments and the findings used to identify the foremost sources of design exclusion. Concurrently, commercial perspectives on the viability of an industry-specific inclusive design standard have been solicited from 15 equipment supplier organisations, representing approximately 65% of the industry, via a series of 9 focus group sessions. From analysis of the collective data, the first draft of the standard was created by the author. Subsequent revisions were guided by an equipment expert panel, convened to offer professional opinions and synthesise user and supplier data, until a consensus on technical content was reached. Substantive conclusions are drawn from the research with regard to the use of an independent and multidisciplinary expert panel to mediate between multiple stakeholder groups and to determine a level of inclusion that can be reasonably and practicably achieved. Further conclusions examine the changing attitudes of leading supplier organisations towards new ways of working, with the uptake of the standard, product design changes and feedback from product design staff indicating the efficacy of the research approach in promoting inclusive design practice. Finally, case study and survey data are presented to confirm the subsequent effectiveness of the standard in supporting inclusive equipment design. The value of the standard is further demonstrated by its inclusion in the bibliography of EN 957:1, the European Standard governing the safety of fitness equipment, alongside the creation of an associated class of product. In addition, the content of the standard has formed a considerable proportion of the new inclusive fitness standard under development by sub-committee WK19803 of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).
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Hess, M. "A metric test object informed by user requirements for better 3D recording of cultural heritage artefacts." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2015. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1471114/.
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This research is motivated by the potential of digital technologies for 3D optical surface recording of museum artefacts and cultural heritage, and aims to enable heritage professionals to produce fit-for-purpose 3D digital records for research. The thesis is considering the idea if a digital surrogate object can be indistinguishable from the original against both qualitative and quantitative metric assessments with outcomes of the work being expressed through a new metric test object and case studies with real objects carried out by the author. The thesis investigates user requirements for 3D image quality using a series of research methods including semi-structured interviews with comparative testing of real artefacts next to digital representations and psychometric methods for image quality testing adapted from 2D to 3D image assessment. Outcomes of this work provide key information about: viewing habits and current recording tools, motivations for 3D imaging, and digital image criteria required for visual inspection and condition reporting. These are validated through interviews with stakeholders to generate a new set of 3D quality metrics which can be used to plan and assess 3D imaging of artefacts. User requirements highlighted a range of metrics that might be explored numerically including spatial and structural resolution and dimensional recording capabilities of optical surface recording systems. This thesis focusses on form metrology through a purpose designed metric artefact in order to evaluate the performance of state-of-the-art 3D capture technologies. A procedure for close range imaging system characterization has been developed and aimed at use by heritage professionals. The combination of metrics from quantitative comparative sensor testing with findings from qualitative testing have led to a planning tool connecting object properties, sensor metrology capabilities and user requirements. A better understanding has been gained of how technologies produce fit-for-purpose 3D digital records and conclusions are presented in a framework for 3D projects and better 3D recording of cultural heritage artefacts. Examples of the framework are given as case studies carried out by the author.
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Meier, Tess Bisbee. "Mechanical Redesign and Implementation of Intuitive User Input Methods for a Hand Exoskeleton Informed by User Studies on Individuals with Chronic Upper Limb Impairments." Digital WPI, 2019. https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/etd-theses/1291.
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Individuals with upper limb motor deficits due to neurological conditions, such as stroke and traumatic brain injury, may exhibit hypertonia and spasticity, which makes it difficult for these individuals to open their hand. The Hand Orthosis with Powered Extension (HOPE) Hand was created in 2018. The performance of the HOPE Hand was evaluated by conducting a Box and Blocks test with an impaired subject. Improvements were identified and the HOPE Hand was mechanically redesigned to increase the functionality in performing grasps. The original motor configuration was reorganized to include active thumb flexion and extension, as well as thumb abduction/adduction. An Electromyography (EMG) study was conducted on 19 individuals (10 healthy, 9 impaired) to evaluate the viability of EMG device control for the specified user group. EMG control, voice control, and manual control were implemented with the HOPE Hand 2.0 and the exoskeleton system was tested for usability during a second Box and Blocks test.
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Aburamadan, R. F. "Developing user-informed specifications for refugees shelter in hot-dry climates : a study of the Al Za'atari Camp in Jordan." Thesis, University of Salford, 2017. http://usir.salford.ac.uk/42606/.
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The increase in refugee numbers is an important concern globally. Since the mid-twentieth century, many countries in different regions have been accommodating refugees by providing shelters. Recently, this response has been evident particularly in Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, and Jordan, where these countries have faced political and economic obstacles whilst accommodating such large increases in refugees caused by the unstable political situation in the region. Despite the abundance of examples of temporary shelters that various countries offer, previous studies have not shown adequate solutions for social and cultural diversity, as well as building and dismantling an appropriate shelter that is suitable for several environment conditions and particularly in hot-dry climates. There is an absence of studies that discuss refugees’ settlements as a global interest. Furthermore, there are very few examples in the literature that discuss shelters suited to hot-dry conditions, whether provided by government or other international institutions. Existing shelters that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other institutions and donors provide do not satisfy refugees’ needs; specifically, suitable design factors and urban organization aspects. The main aim of this study is to develop the specifications for refugee shelters that meet user requirements in hot-dry climates. The design science method provides a theoretical framework to develop a specification that incorporates the design, structural aspects, layout, and to address the particular social and cultural challenges that are presented in refugee camps in hot-dry climates. The research develops specifications, in terms of shelter performance, and contemplates environment challenges and local context conditions besides adding value through a specifications list which incorporates differences of social and cultural aspects, which are not currently provided in humanitarian organizations’ specifications and guidelines. The result of the specification list gives an opportunity to illustrate infinite alternatives of shelter design which consider not only the users’ needs, but also the local context conditions of being located in the hot-dry climate of Jordan. These designs may also be applicable in other environments with similar climatic conditions. In so doing, the findings presented in the research help form a provisional view of peoples’ needs that can be acted on by humanitarian organizations, which could lead to better standardized shelter solutions.
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Piekarska, Marta [Verfasser], Jean-Pierre [Akademischer Betreuer] Seifert, Jean-Pierre [Gutachter] Seifert, Ross [Gutachter] Anderson, and Melanie [Gutachter] Volkamer. "On improving privacy and security through user-informed design / Marta Piekarska ; Gutachter: Jean-Pierre Seifert, Ross Anderson, Melanie Volkamer ; Betreuer: Jean-Pierre Seifert." Berlin : Technische Universität Berlin, 2018. http://d-nb.info/1156331137/34.
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Pereira, Roberto 1983. "Authority network and support to social interaction on the Web = a culturally informed approach = Rede de autoridades e apoio às interações sociais na Web: uma abordagem culturalmente informada." [s.n.], 2012. http://repositorio.unicamp.br/jspui/handle/REPOSIP/275644.
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Orientador: Maria Cecília Calani BaranauskasTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Computação
Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T16:57:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pereira_Roberto_D.pdf: 4415021 bytes, checksum: 07810c54c8af09b8c99558461a229442 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012
Resumo: O advento da Web 2.0 tornou possível o desenvolvimento de aplicações mais ricas e inovadoras em termos de interatividade. Nos chamados software social, ou aplicações sociais, usuários criam, compartilham e recomendam informação, e interagem entre si em escala e velocidade até então inéditas. Embora tenha ocorrido uma popularização desse tipo de sistemas, ainda há pouco conhecimento sobre como projetar sistemas que façam sentido aos seus usuários e que não desencadeiem efeitos negativos no ambiente social em que eles são disponibilizados. Problemas de sobrecarga falta de qualidade e de credibilidade da informação, e impactos negativos em valores como privacidade, confiança e reputação são comumente reportados no contexto de software social. Nesses sistemas, a diversidade de usuários e de seus contextos socioculturais atinge dimensões e introduzem dificuldades com as quais os designers não estão acostumados a lidar. Isso demonstra que projetar aplicações no contexto de uma sociedade mediada por tecnologias da informação e comunicação é uma tarefa cada vez mais complexa, demandando uma visão de design socialmente responsável que considere de forma explícita os valores e a cultura das diferentes partes interessadas. Lidar com aspectos emocionais e afetivos, culturais e de valores, é um dos desafios que caracterizam um novo momento na área de IHC que requer que as técnicas e teorias utilizadas para apoiar o design de sistemas sejam repensadas, trazendo cultura e valores humanos para o centro do processo de design, e desenvolvendo novos artefatos, métodos e exemplos para apoiar o design em suas diferentes atividades. Esta tese de doutorado propõe uma abordagem culturalmente informada e orientada a valores para o design de software social, e demonstra a utilização dessa abordagem para apoiar o design de um sistema no qual a autoridade de seus participantes é um fator chave. A abordagem, denominada VCIA (Value-oriented and Culturally Informed Approach), articula teorias de diferentes áreas e fornece um conjunto de artefatos e métodos criados/adaptados para apoiar diferentes atividades de design. O software social, denominado TNR (Todos Nós em Rede), está sendo projetado para favorecer a constituição de uma rede de autoridades entre professores da área de Educação Especial
Abstract: The Web 2.0 advent has made it possible the development of richer and innovative applications in terms of interactivity. In the so-called social software, or social applications, users create, recommend and share information, and interact with each other at scales and speeds never seen before. Although there was a popularization of such systems, there is still little knowledge about how to design systems that make sense to their users and do not trigger negative effects on the social environment in which they are introduced. Social software has suffered from problems of information overload, lack of quality and credibility, and has negatively impacted on values such as privacy, trust and reputation. In social software, the diversity of users and their sociocultural contexts reaches dimensions and introduces difficulties that designers are not used to deal with. This demonstrates that designing applications in the context of a society mediated by information and communication technologies is an increasingly complex task, requiring a socially responsible view for design that explicitly considers the values and culture of the different stakeholders. Dealing with aspects related to emotion, culture, and values, is one of the challenges that characterize a new moment in the IHC area that requires techniques and theories used to support the design of interactive systems to be rethought. It also requires putting culture and human values at the center of the design process and creating new artifacts, methods and examples for supporting the design in its different activities. This thesis proposes a value-oriented and culturally informed approach (VCIA) for the design of social software, and demonstrates the use of this approach to support the design of a system in which the authority of its participants is a key factor. VCIA articulates theories from different areas and provides a set of methods and artifacts created/adapted to support different design activities. The social software, named TNR (Portuguese acronym for All of Us Networked), is being designed to promote the constitution of a network of authorities among teachers from the Special Education area
Doutorado
Ciência da Computação
Doutor em Ciência da Computação
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Koort, Hannes. "Room for More of Us? : Important Design Features for Informed Decision-Making in BIM-enabled Facility Management." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Människa-datorinteraktion, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-447217.
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Building Information Modeling (BIM) is becoming imperative across building disciplines to improve communication and workflow from the first blueprint. Maintenance and facility management is however lagging behind in adoption and research of BIM. Utilizing research-through-design, this study explores BIM-enabled facility management and the critical practice of decision-making at the Celsius building in Uppsala. Contextual design and inquiry were applied to identify and suggest important design features that support decisions related to the task of establishing maximum room occupation. Results show that facility managers can make use of fuzzy multicriteria decision-making and expert heuristics to independently reach conclusions. Important design features were found to heavily rely on the existing building models, where context-view filtered to room capacity data in the existing BIM-system effectively supported the users’ assessment of data. The filtered, aggregated information presented in a simplified mobile format was insufficient for decision-making, suggesting that the building model was more important than initially perceived.
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Höber, Christoffer, and Josef Marklund. "GDPR:s effekter på användares skydd avpersonliga data på internet." Thesis, Högskolan i Halmstad, Akademin för informationsteknologi, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hh:diva-43685.
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Personliga data samlas in när vi besöker internetsidor och tillgång till personliga data har snabbt fåttavgörande betydelse för alltfler företags värdeskapande. Därför har metodutveckling för tillgång tillpersonliga data blivit en central del i företags konkurrenskraft. Det medför emellertid stora och riskerför individers personliga integritet. För att motverka sådana risker infördes 2018 den europeiskadataskyddsförordningen (GDPR). Vår analys visar att GDPR ger ett stort tolkningsutrymme för hurföretag informerar om datainsamling via cookie-notifikationer. Utformningen varierar därför kraftigtoch designas ofta för att styra användare mot att acceptera datainsamling. Vår analys visar att eneffekt av GDPR är att antalet cookie-notifikationer ökat avsevärt och att individers medvetenhet omoch oro inför hur personliga data samlas in och används har ökat efter GDPR:s införande. Däremotpekar våra resultat på att GDPR inte haft några betydande effekter på användares beteende när detgäller att aktivt skydda sina personliga data. De viktigaste skälen till att GDPR inte haft några effekterpå användarnas beteende för att skydda sina personliga data är att det är alltför tidskrävande och svårt.Vår analys visar därför att det så kallade “informerade samtycket” till insamling av personliga datainte effektivt uppnås trots GDPR:s införande. Vår slutsats för fortsatt forskning är att det är angelägetmed fördjupad forskning kring obalanser mellan individer, företag och reglerande myndigheterkopplat till hur personliga data samlas in, sammanställs och används.The collection of personal data has become a crucial part of companies value creation. Because ofthat, the development of methods to get access to power over the personal data has become a centralpart in the competitiveness between companies. This has resulted in risks and concerns concerningindividual privacy. To counteract these risks, the European Union introduced the General dataProtection Regulation (GDPR). Our analysis shows that one effect of the GDPR is an increased usageof cookie-notifications when informing users of data collection. Our analysis also shows that theregulation has room for interpretation for how the companies inform the user about data collectionpractices. That has resulted in varied design methods in cookie-notifications that often steer userstowards an acceptance of collection of personal data. Because of the increased usage of cookienotificationsusers awareness and privacy concerns has drastically increased. However, our findingsshow that the regulation hasn’t had an effect on user behavior, specifically connected to protectingtheir personal data online. The main reasons for this are that it takes a lot of effort and time tocomprehend how that is done practically. Therefore, our analysis shows that “informed consent” isnot effectively achieved in the current methods, despite it being required in the regulation. Ourconclusion is therefore that future research should focus on the imbalance between individuals,companies and regulatory instances when addressing the problems with collection and usage of personal data.
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Oquendo, Felipe Barros. "A originalidade como requisito para concessão de registro de desenho industrial: subsídios para uma melhor compreensão no direito brasileiro." Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, 2014. http://www.bdtd.uerj.br/tde_busca/arquivo.php?codArquivo=7681.
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Esta dissertação visa a discutir a noção e os limites da originalidade como requisito material para obtenção de registros de desenhos industriais. Começando com a originalidade no texto da Lei n. 9.279/96 e fazendo algumas distinções adotadas pela doutrina e jurisprudência, passa-se para a fundamentação da
originalidade no texto constitucional. Aborda-se em seguida os diversos aspectos relativos direta e indiretamente à originalidade no exame de mérito e validade dos registros de desenho industrial, bem como nas ações de infração. Por fim, são
identificados os critérios fundamentais para averiguação da distinguibilidade dos desenhos e busca-se aplicar algumas das conclusões parciais a casos práticos.This dissertation aims at discussing the notion and boundaries of originality as a material requisite for the validity of industrial design registration. By starting with the originality in the text of Federal Law No. n. 9.279/96 and making some distinctions adopted by doctrine and case law, the work moves to the concept of originality in the constitutional text. In sequence, the diverse aspects related directly and indirectly to the originality in the exam of merits and validity of industrial design registrations are viewed, as well as in the infringement lawsuits. Ultimately, this work searches the fundamental criteria for evaluating the distinctiveness of the designs and aims at applying some of the conclusions reached to practical scenarios.
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King, Hillary S. "An Ethically Informed Consideration of the Use of a Waiver of Informed Consent in Emergency Medicine Research." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1366042483.
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ATWERE, PEARL. "Evaluation of Informed Consent Documents used in Critical Care Trials." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/33356.
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The literature suggests that informed consent documents (ICDs) are not well understood by research participants. The patient decision aid model may suggest improvements for the informed consent process, particularly in the critical care setting (ICU) because of patient capacity issues. Our goal was to evaluate the extent to which existing ICDs used in ICU research adhere to standards and recommendations for high quality informed consent. Eighteen items from recommendations specific to ICU trials were added to a previously developed ICD evaluation tool. A sample of ICU trials was identified from clinicaltrials.gov database and the investigators contacted for their trial ICD.
Conformity to the recommendations was variable. Some information are found routinely in consent documents for critical care research and some are not. Efforts should aim to establish tools for measuring decision quality in the ICU with the goal of facilitating and helping patients and surrogates work through trial participation decisions.
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Cullimore, Ian H. S. "An analysis and implementation of informal human-computer interaction." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.341063.
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Wiratunga, Nirmalie Chandrika. "Informed selection and use of training examples for knowledge refinement." Thesis, Robert Gordon University, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10059/2346.
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Knowledge refinement tools seek to correct faulty rule-based systems by identifying and repairing faults indicated by training examples that provide evidence of faults. This thesis proposes mechanisms that improve the effectiveness and efficiency of refinement tools by the best use and selection of training examples. The refinement task is sufficiently complex that the space of possible refinements demands a heuristic search. Refinement tools typically use hill-climbing search to identify suitable repairs but run the risk of getting caught in local optima. A novel contribution of this thesis is solving the local optima problem by converting the hill-climbing search into a best-first search that can backtrack to previous refinement states. The thesis explores how different backtracking heuristics and training example ordering heuristics affect refinement effectiveness and efficiency. Refinement tools rely on a representative set of training examples to identify faults and influence repair choices. In real environments it is often difficult to obtain a large set of training examples, since each problem-solving task must be labelled with the expert's solution. Another novel aspect introduced in this thesis is informed selection of examples for knowledge refinement, where suitable examples are selected from a set of unlabelled examples, so that only the subset requires to be labelled. Conversely, if a large set of labelled examples is available, it still makes sense to have mechanisms that can select a representative set of examples beneficial for the refinement task, thereby avoiding unnecessary example processing costs. Finally, an experimental evaluation of example utilisation and selection strategies on two artificial domains and one real application are presented. Informed backtracking is able to effectively deal with local optima by moving search to more promising areas, while informed ordering of training examples reduces search effort by ensuring that more pressing faults are dealt with early on in the search. Additionally, example selection methods achieve similar refinement accuracy with significantly fewer examples.
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Toler, Kimberly. "Trauma-Informed Care for Persons With Opioid Use Disorder in Ohio." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7202.
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Prevention, social work, and community awareness programs have not led to the successful reduction of opioid overdose deaths nationwide, and particularly in Ohio. This study explored social work perspectives about trauma-informed care (TIC) for persons with opioid use disorder in Ohio. The research questions for this study examined how social workers in Ohio implemented TIC when providing outpatient treatment to opioid users and what challenges they faced when providing TIC. Using an action research methodology, data were collected through individual semistructured interviews with 5 social work professionals, selected through purposive sampling based on experience in the field of substance use in Ohio and the use of TIC. Contemporary trauma theory and TIC were chosen to frame the research project. Three themes emerged through thematic analysis of the data: appreciation for trauma-informed opioid use disorder treatment, organizational and professional challenges to the use of trauma-informed opioid use disorder treatment, and environmental barriers to successful trauma-informed outpatient opioid use disorder programming. The study aligned with the social work core values of competence and principles of harm reduction. The findings from the study might bring about social change by igniting dialogue among treatment providers about how TIC interventions could support integrated treatment and holistic approaches to combatting opioid addiction in Ohio.
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Cross, M. S. "Electronic medical records in paediatric ophthalmology : a study of potential users and uses to inform design." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2018. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10049547/.
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Electronic medical records are at the core of an advancing movement toward information-driven healthcare. By enhancing abilities to capture, store, and analyse vast amounts of health data, the routine use of electronic medical records is advocated as a means to improve the efficiency and quality of care provision, advance population health, empower patients, and reduce healthcare costs. However, the delivery of any benefits is threatened by a failure to understand the unique care environments of different clinical specialties, and to appropriately customise system design. This has prompted a move to the user-centred design process of health information technology. Paediatric ophthalmology is a unique field that faces particular challenges in electronic medical record adoption. As with other ophthalmic specialties, the heavy use of imaging and diagrammatic documentation is difficult to replicate electronically. As is the flexibility required to meet the demands incurred by the varying ages, developmental stages, and visual needs of each patient, reflecting a unique interface between the ophthalmic and paediatric requirements. The consideration of such requirements is essential throughout the user-centred design of effective health information technology systems. However, paucity in the evidence base surrounding electronic medical record design methodologies and system usage hinders technological development and application within paediatric ophthalmology. This research was centred on a user-centred design process, to provide an understanding of the users of electronic medical records in paediatric ophthalmology, and their requirements. Taking a mixed methods approach, this research initially explored the landscape of medical record use – gathering user- centred requirements – and concluded with the development and testing of three prototype data collection forms, for specific use cases within paediatric ophthalmology. Overall, this work articulates the specific challenges and requirements in this area, and provides the foundation for future design and adoption strategies of electronic medical record systems within paediatric ophthalmology.
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Van, Gass Maria Magdalena. "User requirements for domestic energy applications : households in informal urban settings." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/14696.
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Bibliography: leaves 273-276.The thematic focus of this dissertation is the specificity of user requirements for domestic energy applications in informal urban settlements and how these are fashioned by the contextual pre-conditions of poverty and instability. The fieldwork focused on a group of people who can be defined by the facts that they are people who house themselves, possibly fall into the lowest or no income sector of the population, are peripheral to the mainstream economic activity in the country and are temporary or permanent or roving urbanites. The research approach is done from the viewpoint that user requirements should inform the design of systems for domestic energy applications and that these subjective requirements constitute the correct point of departure from which to evaluate the efficacy of energy support services. The bulk of this dissertation consists of recounts of research interviews, illustrating some aspects of user requirements. These are presented as 'primary data' with the purpose of rendering the research more transparent and of feeing an information resource with the option of re-interpretation by the reader. The dissertation concludes that appropriate energy services will have to be characterised by adaptability and diversity as well as by sensitive responses to the micro networks of urban subsistence household economies.
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Sutton, Yvonne Marie. "Knowledge transformation and representation : towards more informed provision and use of information." Thesis, Sheffield Hallam University, 2000. http://shura.shu.ac.uk/20411/.
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This thesis seeks to better understand the nature of, and relationships between knowledge, data and information. The context selected for this work was clinical practice in the UK National Health Service (NHS) beginning with the generation and use of clinical knowledge. The thesis undertakes a critical examination of the relationship between that knowledge and the data it produces, and the large-scale statistical data sets generated from it via a number of human, technological, systemic and mathematical processes. The statistical data sets were regarded as important because they were highly influential, being used as the basis for significant and far-reaching decisions about healthcare in the NHS. These decisions included policymaking, financial allocations, and allocations of services and other resources. This situation provided fertile ground for this research because the clinical knowledge and data were believed to be subjective to some unknown degree. The statistical data sets, however, were endowed with objective and scientific value. The thesis explores and explains this apparent contradiction. In addressing this issue, the thesis encompasses philosophical, sociological and technological concerns and develops explanatory theories grounded in data collected. Data was collected by a process of extensive qualitative field-based investigation undertaken with clinicians, and data collectors, handlers and users in their operating environments. Key concepts underpinning these theories involve the social construction of reality as a product of individual and group frames of reference; social construction of reality as a result of social arrangements for professional groups; social construction of reality as a result of the pursuance of ontological security; and lastly, the phenomena of structural contradiction and conflict. Of major relevance in this was Giddens' work (1976, 1984) on Structuration Theory, in particular in terms of exploring the effects of sociologically-based frames of reference on creation and transfer of meaning in informational terms. This work was also influential in terms of the notion of structural contradiction and conflict and its informational effects. Application of this abstract, meta-level theory to this real-world situation also led to one of the main contributions to theory. This engagement with reality enabled refinement of its underpinning model. It also demonstrated its explanatory power. This strengthens the validity of the theory and renders it more accessible to other researchers. The thesis indicates clinicians' use of information and subsequent recording of data represents a highly personalised area of professional activity. This does not subsequently translate easily into the data sets and statistical classification schemes that are in common usage in healthcare management. These findings led to conclusions which confirmed initial perceptions of statistical clinical datasets as having a tenuous connection with the clinical knowledge and events upon which they purport to be based. Drawing on evidence which describes knowledge as being situationally-dependent, the conclusions also assert that the transformation of original meaning this implies is largely due to social influences. Finally they claim that the apparent rationality of decisions made on the basis of the transformed meaning, while the result of calculative thought designed to justify related decisions, is misguided in that it has no foundation in the evidence presented. The document ends with a call for a fundamental reassessment of the types of knowledge processed routinely through systems, and of the ways in which those types are handled.
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Veress, Katalin. "A framework for informed action : epidemiological approaches to understanding drug use in Hungary." Thesis, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (University of London), 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.411238.
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Markham, Eric Nicholas. "Training Behavior Professionals to Use the Interview-Informed Synthesized Contingency Analysis (IISCA) Extension." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2019. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1609105/.
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The current investigation replicated and extended previous research on training of behavior professionals to implement functional assessment and analysis procedures. Specifically, the study extended procedures described by Metras to train board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) to administer two components of the Interview Informed Synthesized Contingency Analyses (IISCA) by: (1) conducting the study in the context of a large residential/training facility for adults with ID, (2) including a participant who served as a behavior analyst for a caseload of individuals who lived and received services at the facility, and (3) adjusting the vignettes and interview scripts to reflect the change in context. This current study shows that, following a brief training sequence, the participant was able to accurately administer the open-ended interview and construct a synthesized test and control condition.
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Al, Awar Zeina. "Using HIT to Support Informal Caregivers of Cancer Patients at Home: a Needs Assessment." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/34112.
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Introduction: This research investigated the requirements of an HIT solution that is usable and useful to informal caregivers of cancer patients on home palliative care.
Methodology: A needs assessment method was used with an exploratory and a confirmatory stage. Eight semi-structured interviews and two focus groups were used for data collection. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse caregiver experiences with both inductive and deductive coding.
Results/Discussion: Expressed and unexpressed caregiver needs were extracted into four categories, Implementation, Presentation, Information, and Practical Caregiving, and used to create the application requirements. Five user personas were created based on caregiving intensity and the functional level of the patients, a method of tailoring the application content to the different personas was created, and a low-fidelity prototype of the application was designed.
Conclusion: The findings of this research can improve the preparedness and coping of informal caregivers of cancer patients on home palliative care.
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Groth, Katrina M. "A data-informed model of performance shaping factors for use in human reliability analysis." College Park, Md. : University of Maryland, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1903/9975.
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Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2009.Thesis research directed by: Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.
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Meadows, Jo. "Can analytically-informed therapies be delivered in briefer formats? : a review of the literature and evaluation of a CAT-informed treatment for use in Primary Care." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2014. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/6780/.
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Maxwell, Jessica Lynch. "Investigating the global stakeholder engagement process that informed the development of the Key Biodiversity Area Standard." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/28868.
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This thesis investigated the development of the Global Standard for the Identification of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA Standard), which is a new approach to identifying important sites for biodiversity. Key Biodiversity Areas are defined as sites contributing significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity. The KBA Standard was developed through a global stakeholder engagement process convened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Joint Task Force on Biodiversity and Protected Areas (IUCN Task Force). The engagement process included four main components: (i) technical workshops with subject experts; (ii) interviews and an online questionnaire with end-users; (iii) regional events with additional interested stakeholders; and (iv) an open online consultation where stakeholders were invited to review the draft KBA Standard. The aim of this thesis was to use an action research approach to work with the IUCN Task Force to analyse the end-user component of the global stakeholder engagement process. End-users were defined during the engagement process as those who lead or influence decision-making processes linked to mechanisms that secure biodiversity or that avoid biodiversity loss. The main objectives of this research were to: (i) clarify the purpose of engaging end-users by examining the use of normative, instrumental, and substantive rationales; (ii) use mixed methods to gain an understanding of end-users’ needs and concerns; (iii) categorise and analyse end-users’ needs and concerns by sector and region; (iv) assess the end-user engagement process through a summative evaluation; (v) examine how end-user input was used to inform the development of the KBA Standard; and (vi) develop a set of recommendations related to global end-user engagement practice. The analysis indicated that the IUCN Task Force used a blend of instrumental and substantive rationales to justify engaging end-users. Five main categories of end-user needs and concerns emerged from the analysis of the qualitative interview data: (i) the need for communication and local stakeholder engagement; (ii) the potential for the KBA Standard to either complement or conflict with existing approaches; (iii) the need for clarity regarding the scale at which KBAs can be identified (i.e. global, regional, and/or national); (iv) concerns about the implementation of the KBA Standard, including data availability, timeliness, and resources; and (v) comments about how KBAs inform decision-making, including management options, sustainable use, and prioritisation. These topics were examined in depth through the qualitative interviews and in breadth through the quantitative questionnaire. The results demonstrate a high level of convergence in opinion on many topics; however, four topics resulted in a divergence in opinion between end-users, including: (i) the scale at which KBAs are identified; (ii) the prioritisation of KBAs over other areas; (iii) whether KBA data should be made freely available; and (iv) whether development activities should be permitted in KBAs. These areas of divergence were analysed further by categorising end-user questionnaire responses by sector and region. The results have important implications for how end-users are identified, categorised, and engaged and highlight the complex and individual nature of end-users’ needs and concerns. The summative evaluation analysed the purpose, process, outputs, and outcomes against a typology of engagement and principles of good practice for international standard setting to reflect upon how end-users’ needs and concerns were integrated into the development of the KBA Standard. This indicated both the strengths and weaknesses of the engagement approaches used and informed the development of 11 recommendations to inform future similar processes. This thesis ultimately helps to bridge the gap between stakeholder engagement theory and practice and provides insight into the challenges and benefits of using a mixed methods action research approach to investigate a global stakeholder engagement process.
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Nagarajan, Bala Meenakshi. "Understanding User-Generated Content on Social Media." Wright State University / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1284152205.
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Panteli, Androniki V. "Computer-based informated environments : emergent forms of work organisation." Thesis, University of Warwick, 1995. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/4254/.
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This research formulates the concept of a Computer-Based Informated Environment (CBIE) as an emergent anthropocentric form of work organisation; this is a computerised office environment which informates and empowers lower level employees. The study attempts to enhance our knowledge over the nature of CBIEs. It hypothesizes that with the current interest in IT-enabled empowerment there are more opportunities for the development of CBIEs. A missing element on studies in informated and empowered workplaces is employees' interpretation of these forms of work organisation. A review of the literature on information technology (IT) in organisations supports the view that there is a need for further research on the meaning of technological and organisational changes. This study attempts to cover this gap while also making a contribution in the field of anthropocentric uses of IT in office environments. A structurational framework is developed to uncover the process and context of change and the linkages between the two. Considering the research topic, the case study approach was adopted. Three service-oriented organisations participated in the research. All three had within the last few years introduced the system ImagePlus which is promoted for its potential to empower employees. There have been two important findings about the nature of CBIEs. Firstly, it is found that the process and context of CBIEs should not be treated as mutually independent but as inextricably linked. Secondly, it is identified that CBIEs could occur without being anthropocentric-oriented. Informated employees are not necessarily truly empowered. When the 'empowerment' approach is diffused via IT, it is likely to be in forms that align more with managerial and organisational interests than those of employees. Using structuration theory, the complex dynamics of the use of IT in organisations become evident. The study argues that the 'determinism' and 'choice' perspectives need to be linked for each has a vital role to play in enhancing our understanding of the use of IT in organisations.
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Moore, Allison Louise. "Does the use of video improve patient satisfaction in the consent process for local-anaesthetic urological procedures?" Master's thesis, Faculty of Health Sciences, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33851.
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Purpose To assess patient satisfaction with the use of Portable Video Media (PVM) for the purpose of taking informed consent for common urological outpatient procedures performed under local anaesthesia. Methods Patients undergoing the following procedures were approached for recruitment: flexible cystoscopy with or without biopsy, transrectal ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy or flexible cystoscopy with insertion or removal of a ureteric stent. Audio-visual media were developed for each procedure, with each script translated from English into isiXhosa and Afrikaans. The study involved a cross-over for each patient between Standard Verbal Consent (SVC) and PVM consent, with each patient randomised to start with SVC or PVM consent. Each of these consent-arms were assessed via a questionnaire. Results 60 patients completed participation, with PVM as the first exposure for 28 patients and 32 patients receiving SVC as their first arm of the study. When comparing the overall satisfaction between SVC and PVM consent (the total scores out of 18 for the questionnaire), patients scored significantly higher for PVM consent (M = 16.3 ± 2.4) compared to SVC (M = 15.4 ± 2.9) (p = 0.002). 92% of the total patient sample preferred PVM consent. Conclusion PVM proved superior to SVC in improving satisfaction in the consent process for common outpatient urological procedures performed under local anaesthesia.
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Dorn, Brian James. "A case-based approach for supporting the informal computing education of end-user programmers." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/37275.
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Software development is no longer a task limited to professionally trained computer programmers. Increasing support for software customization through scripting, the opening of application programmer interfaces on the Web, and a growing need for domain specific application support have all contributed to an increase in end-user programming. Unfortunately, learning to program remains a challenging task, and the majority of end-user programmers lack any formal education in software development. Instead, these users must piece together their understanding of programming through trial and error, examples found online, and help from peers and colleagues.
While current approaches to address the difficulties facing end-user programmers seek to change the nature of the programming task, I argue that these challenges often mirror those faced by all novice programmers. Thus, pedagogical solutions must also be explored. This dissertation work investigates the challenges that end-user programmers face from a computer science education perspective. I have engaged in a cycle of learner-centered design to answer the high-level questions: What do users know; what might they need to know; how are they learning; and how might we help users discover and learn what they need or want to know? In so doing, I uniquely frame end-user programming challenges as issues related to knowledge and understanding about computer science. Rather than building new languages or programming tools, I address these difficulties through new types of instructional materials and opportunities for felicitous engagement with them.
This work is contextualized within a specific domain of non-traditional programmers: graphic and web designers who write scripts as part of their careers. Through an in-depth, learner-centered investigation of this user population, this dissertation makes five specific contributions: (1) A detailed characterization of graphic and web design end-user programmers and their knowledge of fundamental computing concepts. (2) An analysis of the existing information space that graphic and web designers rely on for help. (3) The implementation of a novel case-based learning aid named ScriptABLE that is explicitly designed to leverage existing user practices while conveying conceptual knowledge about programming. (4) Initial confirmatory evidence supporting case-based learning aids for the informal computing education of web and graphic design end-user programmers. (5) An argument in support of the value of normative computing knowledge among informally trained programmers.
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Chuluundorj, Zorigtbaatar. "Augmenting Network Flows with User Interface Context to Inform Access Control Decisions." Digital WPI, 2019. https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/etd-theses/1331.
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Whitelisting IP addresses and hostnames allow organizations to employ a default-deny approach to network traffic. Organizations employing a default-deny approach can stop many malicious threats, even including zero-day attacks, because it only allows explicitly stated legitimate activities. However, creating a comprehensive whitelist for a default-deny approach is difficult due to user-supplied destinations that can only be known at the time of usage. Whitelists, therefore, interfere with user experience by denying network traffic to user-supplied legitimate destinations. In this thesis, we focus on creating dynamic whitelists that are capable of allowing user-supplied network activity. We designed and built a system called Harbinger, which leverages user interface activity to provide contextual information in which network activity took place. We built Harbinger for Microsoft Windows operating systems and have tested its usability and effectiveness on four popular Microsoft applications. We find that Harbinger can reduce false positives-positive detection rates from 44%-54% to 0%-0.4% in IP and DNS whitelists. Furthermore, while traditional whitelists failed to detect propagation attacks, Harbinger detected the same attacks 96% of the time. We find that our system only introduced six milliseconds of delay or less for 96% of network activity.
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Flannery, Orla. "Childhood obesity : understanding the user perspective to inform prevention and treatment strategies." Thesis, University of Salford, 2009. http://usir.salford.ac.uk/26679/.
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As a result of increasing prevalence in childhood obesity, it is now at the forefront of policy agendas. To date, however, there is a paucity of evidence in the UK, relating to the behavioural and environmental factors which influence diet and physical activity from the user perspective. Using the social-ecological framework, the principle aim of this thesis was to obtain the user perspective to identify priorities for action to inform prevention and treatment strategies for childhood obesity. A series of qualitative studies were carried out to determine the views of professionals, parents and children. In addition, a family based intervention for childhood obesity was evaluated. There was congruence in the findings across all studies. Poor diet and physical inactivity were identified as the main causes of obesity. Cost, availability, a lack of knowledge on portion sizes and food labels, a lack of appropriate facilities for activity and an unsupportive environment emerged as the main barriers. Across the studies, parents were consistently purported to be a contributor and a potential solution to childhood obesity. In terms of interventions, cookery courses which provide parents with practical information were deemed crucial. In addition, the development of a training programme for health care professionals on childhood obesity was identified as a priority. Children identified the use of the media and the internet as mechanisms with which to engage with children. With regard to the family based intervention, there was a significant decrease (p<0.05) in BMI and a significant increase in self-esteem (/?<0.05) post intervention. Although it is likely that the intervention had an effect, these findings warrant further investigation. In summary, this thesis provides a comprehensive insight to childhood obesity from the user perspective. Whilst change needs to occur to reduce the wider environmental barriers, equally parents are responsible for childhood obesity. However, there needs to be a concerted effort from health care professionals to ensure that parents have the necessary skills and knowledge to change behaviour.
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Bunsiriluck, Supaporn. "Informed choice? : popular concepts on the use of herbal medicines by women during the menopause." Thesis, University of Reading, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.608366.
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Herbal medicines are one of the oldest forms of medical treatment, and many people believe they provide a more natural and holistic approach towards health care. Consumers often purchase herbal medicines and food supplements to relieve minor symptoms without necessarily consulting a physician, their decisions based on the information available to them which may not be accurate or complete. One of the most popular reasons for taking herbal medicines and food supplements is the menopause. Although a natural event rather than an illness, the hormonal changes that accompany the menopause can produce a range of symptoms which may be considered a suitable condition for self-treatment. Whilst severe symptoms can be managed with hormone replacement therapy (HRT), it is not considered a suitable treatment for most patients due to its inherent risks. Women may explore the use of herbal medicines based on a view that these are more 'natural' and 'safer' than HRT; however, safety is not guaranteed and without access to reliable and comprehensive information, women make decisions based on their own understanding. In other words they rely on 'herbalmedicine- in-the-menopause' heuristics, but this can lead to erroneous judgments. This thesis first examines attitudes towards herbal use among menopausal women as evidenced in the literature. Three main categories capture women's decision making in this area: 1) optimism about herbal medicines; 2) pessimism about HRT and the medical treatment of the menopause; 3) cure-control with herbal medicines. In addition, interviews using vignettes further explore the existence of a heuristic driving the use of herbs in the menopause. A number of dominant categories were found to arise from this work, which encapsulated women's attitudes towards herbal medicines in the menopause, and related specifically to: (i) perception of menopause; (ii) the use of herbal medicine for coping with menopausal symptoms; (iii) wariness towards treatment use during menopause; and (iv) relationships with, and women's expectation from GPs about herbal usage.
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Savkina, Marina D. 1973. "Probabilistic accident analysis of the Pebble Bed modular Reactor for use with risk informed regulation." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/17748.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-76).
One of the major challenges to the successful deployment of new nuclear plants in the United States is the regulatory process, which is largely based on water-reactor technology. While ongoing and expected efforts to license new LWR designs are based primarily on current regulations, guidance, and past licensing experience, the pre- application review of the gas-cooled Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) has shown that efforts are being made to provide additional "risk-informed" improvements to the licensing process. The work presented herein was completed as part of the DOE Nuclear Energy Research Initiative project on a new "highly risk-informed" design and regulatory process. This study concentrates on the application of the risk-informed principles to a new plant design such as the PBMR. The purpose of this work is to provide selected examples of PRA applications, including development of Master Logic Diagram (MLD) for the selection of accident-initiating events and safety classification systems and components, as well as evaluating the risk significance of design features responsible for preventing and mitigating accidents. An implementation example chosen for a detailed analysis concentrates on the investigation of potential failure modes where performance of the novel design features such as water-based Reactor Cavity Cooling System (RCCS) is critical for the plant safety. The role and importance of the PBMR safety features is investigated by evaluating the risks from the most important external event: earthquake with a subsequent loss of offsite power.
(cont.) The scope includes specifying design configurations and using PRA techniques to evaluate the design, then iterating with subsequent design changes that improve the overall level of safety and system reliability. The viability of the new risk-informed process is demonstrated. Technical results, consistent with the known inherent safety features of such a reactor design, indicate that a pressure-tight containment similar to those for today's operating reactors may not be required for the PBMR.
by Marina D. Savkina.
S.M.
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Laibowitz, Matthew Joel 1975. "Creating cohesive video with the narrative-informed use of ubiquitous wearable and imaging sensor networks." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/57695.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2010.Page 232 blank. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 222-231).
In today's digital era, elements of anyone's life can be captured, by themselves or others, and be instantly broadcast. With little or no regulation on the proliferation of camera technology and the increasing use of video for social communication, entertainment, and education, we have undoubtedly entered the age of ubiquitous media. A world permeated by connected video devices promises a more democratized approach to mass-media culture, enabling anyone to create and distribute personalized content. While these advancements present a plethora of possibilities, they are not without potential negative effects, particularly with regard to privacy, ownership, and the general decrease in quality associated with minimal barriers to entry. This dissertation presents a first-of-its-kind research platform designed to investigate the world of ubiquitous video devices in order to confront inherent problems and create new media applications. This system takes a novel approach to the creation of user-generated, documentary video by augmenting a network of video cameras integrated into the environment with on-body sensing. The distributed video camera network can record the entire life of anyone within its coverage range and it will be shown that it, almost instantly, records more audio and video than can be viewed without prohibitive human resource cost.
(cont.) This drives the need to develop a mechanism to automatically understand the raw audiovisual information in order to create a cohesive video output that is understandable, informative, and/or enjoyable to its human audience. We address this need with the SPINNER system. As humans, we are inherently able to transform disconnected occurrences and ideas into cohesive narratives as a method to understand, remember, and communicate meaning. The design of the SPINNER application and ubiquitous sensor platform is informed by research into narratology, in other words how stories are created from fragmented events. The SPINNER system maps low level sensor data from the wearable sensors to higher level social signal and body language information. This information is used to label the raw video data. The SPINNER system can then build a cohesive narrative by stitching together the appropriately labeled video segments. The results from three test runs are shown, each resulting in one or more automatically edited video piece. The creation of these videos is evaluated through review by their intended audience and by comparing the system to a human trying to perform similar actions. In addition, the mapping of the wearable sensor data to meaningful information is evaluated by comparing the calculated results to those from human observation of the actual video.
by Mathew Laibowitz.
Ph.D.
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Erasmus, Pieter Miguel. "Informed consent and the secondary use of biospecimens in oncology research legal and bioethics perspectives." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4693.
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Includes bibliographical references.Biospecimens1 collected during routine oncology diagnostic and therapeutic interventions may be stored for future medical purposes. In accordance with legal and ethical principles, the patient provides informed consent for removal of the tissue for diagnostic or therapeutic reasons. Informed consent gives permission for the violation of bodily integrity that is inevitable with tissue removal.
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Metras, Rachel. "Teaching Behavior Professionals to Use the Interview-Informed Synthesized Contingency Analysis (IISCA): A Preliminary Investigation." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2017. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1011807/.
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We assessed the implementation accuracy and fidelity of two board certified behavior analysts (BCBAs) using the open-ended interview from Hanley. Participants interviewed a confederate using the open-ended interview, and were then asked to use information gathered from the interview to create operational definitions of target behaviors as well as test and control condition procedures for a subsequent matched test-control functional analysis as is characteristic of the interview-informed synthesized contingency analysis (IISCA) strategy. Brief behavioral skills training (BST) was then implemented with all participants to increase the accuracy of constructing both target behavior definitions and functional analysis procedures. Preliminary results show moderate rates of accuracy of target behavior definitions and functional analysis procedures prior to BST, and high rates of accuracy following BST. The results also suggest high implementation fidelity on the open-ended interview may not be necessary to achieve high accuracy when constructing target behavior definitions and functional analysis procedures.
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Tolvanen, J. (Jere). "Informed habitat choice in the heterogeneous world: ecological implications and evolutionary potential." Doctoral thesis, Oulun yliopisto, 2018. http://urn.fi/urn:isbn:9789526218939.
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Abstract Animals live in a heterogeneous world where threats and abundance and quality of resources vary across space and time. Heterogeneity induces uncertainty in decisions that animals must make, e.g., where to breed. Adaptive decisions may be facilitated by personally collecting information on the quality of the environment and by observing the behaviour and success of other individuals. Such social information use is common in nature. I investigate information use in relation to ecological threats (brood parasites, nest predators) and long-term information use in breeding site choice in the wild. Moreover, I examine the genetic basis of social cue use in breeding site choice. I demonstrated experimentally that open-nesting hosts of a brood parasite, the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), can cue on cuckoo vocalizations to estimate cuckoo abundance and avoid breeding sites with high perceived parasitism risk. Another experiment showed that pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) derive predation risk information from the fates of heterospecific nests, can associate the information with a nest site characteristic and generalize the association to own nest site choice. However, apparently only young females that made their choice quickly used the information in nest site choice. Pied flycatchers were further observed to collect habitat quality information based on the old nest contents during the post-breeding period. Use of the information in breeding site choice in the following spring varied between sex and age groups as well as geographically. Some birds integrated the post-breeding period information with the information available during settlement suggesting sequential social information use. Finally, quantitative genetic analyses revealed low additive genetic variances and genetic heritabilities of social cue use in breeding site choice in a collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) population. These results demonstrate new aspects of informed habitat choice in wild animals which have important implications for species coexistence and community ecology, parasite-host coevolution, between-species niche dynamics and evolution. Between-individual variation in information use is highlighted throughout the thesis and warrants further research. The evolutionary potential of information use appears low, but more studies in other populations and species are neededTiivistelmä Eläimet elävät ympäristössä, jossa resurssit ja uhat vaihtelevat ajallisesti ja alueellisesti. Tämä vaihtelu aiheuttaa epävarmuutta eläinten päätöksentekoon, kuten pesimäpaikan valintaan. Hyödyllisten päätösten tekoa voi edesauttaa keräämällä tietoa ympäristön laadusta itsenäisesti tai seuraamalla muiden yksilöiden käytöstä ja menestystä. Tällainen sosiaalisen informaation käyttö on yleistä eläinkunnassa. Tutkin informaation käyttöä ekologisten uhkien (pesäloiset, -pedot) suhteen ja pitkäaikaista informaation käyttöä pesimäpaikan valinnassa luonnonpopulaatioissa. Lisäksi selvitän pesimäpaikan valintaan liittyvän informaation käyton geneettistä periytyvyyttä. Selvitin kokeellisesti, että pesäloisen, käen (Cuculus canorus), isäntälajit voivat käyttää käkien ääntelyä vihjeenä alueellisesta loisintauhasta ja siten välttää korkean uhan alueita pesimäpaikan valinnassa. Toisessa kokeessa havaittiin kirjosieppojen (Ficedula hypoleuca) keräävän tietoa pesäpetouhasta toisen lajin pesätuhojen kautta, kykenevän yhdistämään tiedon erilliseen pesäpaikan ominaisuuteen ja käyttämään tätä assosiaatiota omassa pesäpaikan valinnassa. Kuitenkin vain nuoret naaraat, jotka tekivät valintansa nopeasti, käyttivät kyseistä informaatiota valinnassaan. Lisäksi havaitsin kirjosieppojen keräävän tietoa ympäristön laadusta pesinnän jälkeen vanhojen pesäsisältöjen avulla. Kyseisen tiedon käyttö pesimäpaikan valinnassa seuraavana keväänä vaihteli lintujen sukupuolen ja iän suhteen, kuin myös alueellisesti. Osa linnuista yhdisti pesimäpaikan valinnassaan aikaisempaa, pesinnän jälkeen kerättyä tietoa ja keväällä saatavilla olevaa sosiaalista informaatiota. Geneettinen analyysi viittasi pesimäpaikan valintaan liittyvän informaation käytön alhaiseen additiivisen geneettisen varianssin määrään ja siten alhaiseen geneettiseen periytyvyyteen sepelsiepolla (Ficedula albicollis). Väitöskirjani tulokset kuvaavat uudenlaisia informaation käytön muotoja eläinten pesimäpaikan valinnassa. Havainnot auttavat ymmärtämään pesälois-isäntä rinnakkaisevoluutiota, lajien välisiä vuorovaikutuksia, lajiyhteisöjen toimintaa ja evoluutiota. Yksilöiden välinen vaihtelu informaation käytössä näyttää olevan yleistä, ja lisätutkimuksen tarpeessa. Informaation käytön evolutiivinen potentiaali näyttää rajalliselta, mutta lisätutkimukset eri populaatioilla ja lajeilla ovat tarpeen
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Kobel, Dorothy. "Quantifying the value of non-user benefits of improving water and sanitation in informal settlements." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/5035.
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Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.
This study investigated the value among society of the benefits of improving water and sanitation in informal settlements. The benefits of improving water supply and sanitation have been widely researched, both at a societal and at household level. Why then have the efforts to increase access to services over the last 30 years not achieved the desired results? The value of these benefits, measured through assessments of willingness to pay by the users, is commonly used in investment appraisals as indicators of project viability.
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Meehan, Katharine. "Greywater and the grid: Explaining informal water use in Tijuana." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194038.
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Cities in the global South are confronting unprecedented challenges to urban sustainability and equitable development, particularly in the realm of water provision. Nearly 1.5 billion people worldwide suffer from a lack of safe access to drinking water and sanitation -an increasing proportion of whom reside in cities. Meanwhile, in the gaps of the grid, a diversity of water harvesting and reuse techniques, infrastructures, and institutional arrangements has emerged to provision poor households. Despite the burgeoning presence of the informal water sector, little is known about its institutional character, environmental impact, or relationship with state provision and private supply. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data collected during nearly 13 months of fieldwork in Tijuana, Mexico, this dissertation queries how informal water use is managed, whether informal water use constitutes an alternative economy and sustainable environmental practice, and to what degree informal water use redefines urban space and alternative development possibilities. Findings reveal that: 1) despite historical efforts in Mexico to federalize and centralize the control of water resources, state action opens 'gaps' in the hydrosocial cycle, and informal institutions manage these 'extralegal' spaces; 2) informal water use is widespread across socioeconomic levels in Tijuana, predominantly managed by household-based institutions, and conserves a surprising degree of municipal water; and 3) the spatiality of contemporary water infrastructures and economies is highly diverse-ranging from bottled water markets to non-capitalist, self-provisioning greywater reuse-and is in fact constitutive of 'splintered urbanism' and alternative modes of development.
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Burt, Robert A. "The uses of psychoanalysis in law: the force of Jay Katz’s example." Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2016. http://repositorio.pucp.edu.pe/index/handle/123456789/116284.
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This article samples possible uses of psychoanalysis in law from the academic work of Joseph Goldstein and Jay Katz. Both start to recognize the importance of psychoanalysis to provide a serious and courageous attention to the non-rational dimensions of the human being, we should be aware in the world of law. Starting from this premise, the author explores two possible uses of psychoanalysis in law: one represented by Goldstein, focuses on using «psychoanalytic premises to resolve legal disputes», for example by providing psychoanalytic information to determine the best interests of the child in cases of custody, while the other, represented by Katz, who seeks to «create an awareness of conflict where all of the actors had previously been locked in a mutually reinforcing fantasy that no conflict existed», as it occurs in doctor-patient relationship, in order to rethink standards that had been set by law under an illusion of objectivity and rationality. The article explores these two approaches through examples, linking two perspectives adopted by Freud throughout his academic work and taking a preferred position by the position of Katz.El presente artículo muestras los posibles usos del psicoanálisis en el derecho a partir del trabajo académico de Joseph Goldstein y Jay Katz. Ambos parten de reconocer la importancia del psicoanálisis para prestar una atención seria y valiente a las dimensiones no racionales del ser humano, de las que debemos ser conscientes en el mundo del derecho. Partiendo de dicha premisa, el autor explora dos posibles usos del psicoanálisis en el derecho. Uno, representado por Goldstein, se centra en utilizar «premisas psicoanalíticas para resolver conflictos jurídicos», como, por ejemplo, al aportar información psicoanalítica para determinar el interés superior del niño en casos de tenencia. Mientras tanto, el otro, representado por Katz, busca «concientizar acerca de un conflicto en casos donde los todos actores se habían dedicado a reforzar mutuamente su fantasía de que no existía conflicto alguno» entre sujetos de una relación, como ocurría en la relación médico-paciente, con la finalidad de repensar estándares que habían sido fijados por el derecho bajo una ilusión de objetividad y racionalidad. El artículo explora estas dos aproximaciones a través de ejemplos, vinculándolas a dos perspectivas adoptadas por Freud a lo largo de su trabajo académico y tomando una postura preferente por la mirada de Katz.
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Horan, Andrew. "Using the Internet to train clinicians to use evidence-based psychologically-informed interventions, including 'if-then' planning." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2018. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/21501/.
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Appleton, Philippa Jane. "Facilitating an enabling relationship in Active Support : evaluating the use of video informed reflective practice with staff." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/40136.
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This portfolio contains three pieces of research, in the following areas: Research Report: this study evaluated a revised package of active support (AS), which modified standard AS training to include a video informed reflective practice. In addition to standard methods for evaluating AS, a new observational tool was piloted to code the presence of positive and negative interactions between staff and service users. Results showed moderate effect sizes for service user engagement, staff assistance, and both positive and negative interactions following the training. Systematic Literature Review: the aim of this review was to describe and synthesise the literature examining the outcome of mindfulness based therapies on the psychological functioning of people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Eight studies were identified for inclusion. Overall results showed reductions in a range of psychological symptoms. The quality of included studies was mostly weak, and methodological limitations are discussed. Service Evaluation: this project aimed to evaluate the effects of a mindfulness intervention on family caregivers of adults with learning disabilities or physical/mental health problems. Quantitative measures at pre, post, and two month follow-up, and qualitative analysis of a focus group were used to evaluate the programme. No significant change was found on quantitative measures of well-being or carer quality of life, however the qualitative evaluation revealed interesting themes about how participants experienced a mindfulness based intervention. This is followed by a critical appraisal of the research report.
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Maguth, Brad M. "Investigating Student Use of Technology for Informed and Active Democratic Citizenship in a Global and Multicultural Age." The Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1248880262.
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Runner, Adam D. "Investigating informal development: a case study of Kibera and Sultanbeyli." Kansas State University, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/8617.
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Master of Regional and Community PlanningDepartment of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning
Jason Brody
As global development trends continue, planners and social scientists of the future will have an increasingly pressing responsibility to effectively and sensitively address and interact with informal development. This report seeks to provide theoretical research to expand the knowledge base of planners and social scientists with respect to informal development. It aims to begin to explore and explain how informal development and living conditions interact, and to understand what the role of the planner and social scientist should be in interfacing with informal development in the future. Through case study this report considers two distinct typologies of informal settlements in order to compare and contrast factors in each settlement‘s history and development, living conditions, and overarching administrative relationships to identify trends in the development and manifestation of informal settlements.
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Kabecha, Wanjau Wa. "The quality of informal sector production : poor quality or quality for the poor." Thesis, University of Warwick, 1994. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/36247/.
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A glance through the voluminous literature on micro-enterprises clearly shows the existence of robust information on the role, definition and the importance of informal sector in economic development. The literature however contributes very little to knowledge on the technological dimension of the sector. Little is known about the quality of products manufactured in the sector although much has been written on quality in large scale manufacturing. This research attempts to fill this gap by exploring the status of quality in micro-enterprises and the factors that contribute to it. The adopted methodology consisted of producer and consumer surveys. This was complemented by product tests, and experiments to determine the applicability of interventions to improve quality. User-based measures of quality formed the basis of measurement in this research. The products were found to be of poor quality in that they did not fulfill the task and non-task attributes that underlie a purchase by a consumer. The low quality was attributed to inadequate facilities and processes, poor quality materials and a low level of skills in the sector. Quality may be improved through either changing these inputs or raising their quality. The findings revealed a wide range of innovative behaviour by micro-enterpreneurs. However, the micro-entrepreneurs were found to be perpetuating an imitative model which inhibits their innovative capability. Interventions directed at improving products, processes and skills could empower micro-entrepreneurs through building their self confidence which could in turn generate fresh innovations.
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Müller, Sebastian R. "Hawala : an informal payment system and its use to finance terrorism /." Saarbrücken : VDM, Müller, 2006. http://deposit.d-nb.de/cgi-bin/dokserv?id=2893788&prov=M&dok_var=1&dok_ext=htm.
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Buxton, Ian. "Use of synaesthesias and informal consumer communities in empowering wine consumers." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16398.
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Includes bibliographical references.A three phase investigation into the utility of wine consumer opinion as a viable source of information to wine consumers in South Africa. The research demonstrates that existing marketing and expert opinion is inappropriately constructed, using paradigms that are overly simplistic or language that is not valued by consumers. The paper further investigates the use of visual representations of wine to communicate the "tasting notes" of consumers, providing a first access trigger which can be quickly and accurately interpreted into an assessable taste for the wine. Lastly it examines the benefits of using consumers to provide narrative reviews of the wine, in whatever terms they choose, to represent the consumption experience of the wine.
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Alvarez, Rodriguez Alberto. "An integrated framework for the next generation of Risk-Informed Performance-Based Design approach used in Fire Safety Engineering." Digital WPI, 2013. https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/etd-dissertations/5.
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Review of decades of worldwide experience using standards, codes and guidelines related to performance-based fire protection design for buildings has identified shortcomings in the interpretation, application and implementation of the performance-based design process, wide variation in the resulting levels of performance achieved by such designs, and several opportunities to enhance the process. While others have highlighted shortcomings in the past, as well as some ideas to enhance the process, it is proposed that a more fundamental change is needed. First, the political and technical components of the process need to be clearly delineated to facilitate better analysis and decision-making within each component. Second, the process needs to be changed from one which focuses only on fire safety systems to one which views buildings, their occupants and their contents as integrated systems. In doing so, the activities associated with the normal operation of a building and how they might be impacted by the occurrence of a fire event become clearer, as do mitigation options which account for the behaviors and activities associated with normal use. To support these changes, a new framework for a risk-informed performance-based process for fire protection design is proposed: one which is better integrated than current processes, that treats a fire event as a disruptive event of a larger and more complex "building-occupant" system, and that provides more specific guidance for engineering analysis with the aim to achieve more complete and consistent analysis. This Ph.D. Dissertation outlines the challenges with the existing approaches, presents the "building-occupant" system paradigm, illustrates how viewing fire (or any other hazard) as a disruptive event within an holistic "building-occupant" system can benefit the overall performance of this system over its lifespan, and outlines a framework for a risk-informed performance-based process for fire protection design. Case studies are used to illustrate shortcomings in the existing processes and how the proposed process will address these. This Dissertation also includes a plan of action needed to establish guidelines to conduct each of the technical steps of the process and briefly introduces the future work about how this plan could be practically facilitated via a web-platform as a collaborative environment.
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Mims, Pamela J., Bree Jimenez, and Joshua Baker. "Preparing Teachers to Use Instructional Data to Inform Practice." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2013. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/201.
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Stevenson, Fiona Anne. "Patients' and medical practitioners' approaches to the use of prescribed steroids in asthma : the potential for informed choice." Thesis, University of Derby, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/10545/270555.
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Recent changes in legislation and access to information, through sources such as the media, may have influenced peoples' expectations for information about their prescribed medication. As a result, health care professionals may perceive an increased pressure to provide information. A case study approach was employed to examine the sources and scope of information patients draw upon when they are prescribed oral steroids for asthma. The aim was to examine the extent to which patients can be said to exercise an `informed choice' when they take prescribed medication. The role and importance of GPs (general practitioners) in informing the choices patients make was also examined. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed. Interviews conducted with both patients and GPs indicated `gaps' in understanding. Although the GP was the preferred source of information, patients reported that the choices they made were based on information from a range of sources. General practitioners justified not providing information to patients so as to `protect' patients from knowledge of side effects. However, there was some awareness of the range of sources of information used by patients. A vignette technique was employed to further investigate GPs' recognition and understanding of the range of sources of information patients' use to inform the choices they make. Approximately half of the GPs who responded to the vignette recognised the influences presented. General practitioners who had been practising for a shorter period of time were significantly more likely to recognise these influences. The conclusions draw on the literature of the sociology of the professions. In spite of the way in which the Government has sought to encourage patients to act as consumers, the state has also continued to endorse GPs right to make decisions concerning the level of information to provide. If GPs do not believe it is in the interests of patients to be provided with information to make choices about their medications then the information available to patients may be limited. This will have an impact on the ease with which patients may make `medically' informed choices about their prescribed medication. Only when the communication between patients and GPs improves, will it be possible for a relationship to develop where patients may be assured of gaining information from their GP at the level they feel is appropriate to enable them to make informed choices about their medication.