Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Quality measures'

The explosion in popularity of online social networks has led to increased interest in identity resolution from security practitioners. Being able to connect together the multiple online accounts of a user can be of use in verifying identity attributes and in tracking the activity of malicious users. At the same time, privacy researchers are exploring the same phenomenon with interest in identifying privacy risks caused by re-identification attacks. Existing literature has explored how particular components of an online identity may be used to connect profiles, but few if any studies have attempted to assess the comparative value of information attributes. In addition, few of the methods being reported are easily comparable, due to difficulties with obtaining and sharing ground- truth data. Attempts to gain a comprehensive understanding of the identifiability of profile attributes are hindered by these issues. With a focus on overcoming these hurdles to effective research, this thesis first develops a methodology for sampling ground-truth data from online social networks. Building on this with reference to both existing literature and samples of real profile data, this thesis describes and grounds a comprehensive matching schema of profile attributes. The work then defines data quality measures which are important for identity resolution, and measures the availability, consistency and uniqueness of the schema’s contents. The developed measurements are then applied in a feature selection scheme to reduce the impact of missing data issues common in identity resolution. Finally, this thesis addresses the purposes to which identity resolution may be applied, defining the further application-oriented data quality measurements of novelty, veracity and relevance, and demonstrating their calculation and application for a particular use case: evaluating the social engineering vulnerability of an organisation.

Le principal objectif de cette thèse vise à estimer de manière automatique la qualité de la traduction de langue parlée (Spoken Language Translation ou SLT), appelée estimation de confiance (Confidence Estimation ou CE). Le système de SLT génère les hypothèses représentées par les séquences de mots pour l'audio qui contient parfois des erreurs. En raison de multiples facteurs, la sortie de SLT, ayant une qualité insatisfaisante, pourrait causer différents problèmes pour les utilisateurs finaux. Par conséquent, il est utile de savoir combien de confiance les tokens corrects pourraient être trouvés au sein de l'hypothèse. L'objectif de l'estimation de confiance consistait à obtenir des scores qui quantifient le niveau de confiance ou à annoter les tokens cibles en appliquant le seuil de décision (par exemple, seuil par défaut = 0,5). Dans le cadre de cette thèse, nous avons proposé un boîte à outils, qui consiste en un framework personnalisable, flexible et en une plate-forme portative, pour l'estimation de confiance au niveau de mots (Word-level Confidence Estimation ou WCE) de SLT.En premier lieu, les erreurs dans le SLT ont tendance à se produire sur les hypothèses de la reconnaissance automatique de la parole (Automatic Speech Recognition ou ASR) et sur celles de la traduction automatique (Machine Translation ou MT), qui sont représentées par des séquences de mots. Ce phénomène est étudié par l'estimation de confiance (CE) au niveau des mots en utilisant les modèles de champs aléatoires conditionnels (Conditional Random Fields ou CRF). Cette tâche, relativement nouvelle, est définie et formalisée comme un problème d'étiquetage séquentiel dans lequel chaque mot, dans l'hypothèse de SLT, est annoté comme bon ou mauvais selon un ensemble des traits importants. Nous proposons plusieurs outils servant d’estimer la confiance des mots (WCE) en fonction de notre évaluation automatique de la qualité de la transcription (ASR), de la qualité de la traduction (MT), ou des deux (combiner ASR et MT). Ce travail de recherche est réalisable parce que nous avons construit un corpus spécifique, qui contient 6.7k des énoncés pour lesquels un quintuplet est normalisé comme suit : (1) sortie d’ASR, (2) transcription en verbatim, (3) traduction textuelle, (4) traduction vocale et (5) post-édition de la traduction. La conclusion de nos multiples expérimentations, utilisant les traits conjoints entre ASR et MT pour WCE, est que les traits de MT demeurent les plus influents, tandis que les traits de ASR peuvent apporter des informations intéressantes complémentaires.En deuxième lieu, nous proposons deux méthodes pour distinguer des erreurs susceptibles d’ASR et de celles de MT, dans lesquelles chaque mot, dans l'hypothèse de SLT, est annoté comme good (bon), asr_error (concernant les erreurs d’ASR) ou mt_error (concernant les erreurs de MT). Nous contribuons donc à l’estimation de confiance au niveau de mots (WCE) pour SLT par trouver la source des erreurs au sein des systèmes de SLT.En troisième lieu, nous proposons une nouvelle métrique, intitulée Word Error Rate with Embeddings (WER-E), qui est exploitée afin de rendre cette tâche possible. Cette approche génère de meilleures hypothèses de SLT lors de l'optimisation de l'hypothèse de N-meilleure hypothèses avec WER-E.En somme, nos stratégies proposées pour l'estimation de la confiance se révèlent un impact positif sur plusieurs applications pour SLT. Les outils robustes d’estimation de la qualité pour SLT peuvent être utilisés dans le but de re-calculer des graphes de la traduction de parole ou dans le but de fournir des retours d’information aux utilisateurs dans la traduction vocale interactive ou des scénarios de parole aux textes assistés par ordinateur.Mots-clés: Estimation de la qualité, Estimation de confiance au niveau de mots (WCE), Traduction de langue parlée (SLT), traits joints, Sélection des traits
The main aim of this thesis is to investigate the automatic quality assessment of spoken language translation (SLT), called Confidence Estimation (CE) for SLT. Due to several factors, SLT output having unsatisfactory quality might cause various issues for the target users. Therefore, it is useful to know how we are confident in the tokens of the hypothesis. Our first contribution of this thesis is a toolkit LIG-WCE which is a customizable, flexible framework and portable platform for Word-level Confidence Estimation (WCE) of SLT.WCE for SLT is a relatively new task defined and formalized as a sequence labelling problem where each word in the SLT hypothesis is tagged as good or bad accordingto a large feature set. We propose several word confidence estimators (WCE) based on our automatic evaluation of transcription (ASR) quality, translation (MT) quality,or both (combined/joint ASR+MT). This research work is possible because we built a specific corpus, which contains 6.7k utterances for which a quintuplet containing: ASRoutput, verbatim transcript, text translation, speech translation and post-edition of the translation is built. The conclusion of our multiple experiments using joint ASR and MT features for WCE is that MT features remain the most influent while ASR features can bring interesting complementary information.As another contribution, we propose two methods to disentangle ASR errors and MT errors, where each word in the SLT hypothesis is tagged as good, asr_error or mt_error.We thus explore the contributions of WCE for SLT in finding out the source of SLT errors.Furthermore, we propose a simple extension of WER metric in order to penalize differently substitution errors according to their context using word embeddings. For instance, the proposed metric should catch near matches (mainly morphological variants) and penalize less this kind of error which has a more limited impact on translation performance. Our experiments show that the correlation of the new proposed metric with SLT performance is better than the one of WER. Oracle experiments are also conducted and show the ability of our metric to find better hypotheses (to be translated) in the ASR N-best. Finally, a preliminary experiment where ASR tuning is based on our new metric shows encouraging results.To conclude, we have proposed several prominent strategies for CE of SLT that could have a positive impact on several applications for SLT. Robust quality estimators for SLT can be used for re-scoring speech translation graphs or for providing feedback to the user in interactive speech translation or computer-assisted speech-to-text scenarios.Keywords: Quality estimation, Word confidence estimation (WCE), Spoken Language Translation (SLT), Joint Features, Feature Selection

This study is a thesis for the Master of Science degree in Media Technology and Engineering at the Department of Science and Technology, Linkoping University. It was accomplished from November 2002 to May 2003.

Objective image quality measures play an important role in various image processing applications. In this paper quality measures applied on halftoned images are aimed to be in focus. Digital halftoning is the process of generating a pattern of binary pixels that create the illusion of a continuous- tone image. Algorithms built on this technique produce results of very different quality and characteristics. To evaluate and improve their performance, it is important to have robust and reliable image quality measures. This literature survey is to give a general description in digital halftoning and halftone image quality methods.

The concept of using qualitative measures to describe the quality of service at signalized intersections provided by different designs and controls has been discussed in numerous conferences. Such measures may include driver's comfort, convenience, anxiety, and preferences. The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of using the University of Central Florida's interactive driving simulator to execute several scenarios involving different unusual design and operation practices to measure the quality of service at a signalized intersection. This thesis describes the scenarios, the experiments conducted, the data collected, and analysis of results. Signalized intersections with 3 types of characteristic features were identified for this study. They included 1. A lane dropping on the downstream side of the intersection 2. Misalignment of traffic lanes between the approach and downstream side 3. Shared left turn and through traffic lane or separate lanes for each approaching the intersection The experimental phase consisted of a brief orientation session to get acclimated to the driving simulator followed by two driving scenarios presented to all subjects. Each scenario consisted of a drive through an urban section of the simulator's visual data base where each subject encountered a Type 1, 2 and 3 intersections. A total of 40 subjects, 25 males and 15 females were recruited for the experiment. Data logging at 60 Hz for each scenario consisted of time-stamped values of x-position and y-position of the simulator vehicle, steering, accelerator and brake inputs by the driver, and vehicle speed. After the experiment a questionnaire soliciting opinions and reactions about each intersection was administered. Simulator experiment results showed that there was a significant difference between the merge lengths for the two cases of Type 1 intersection (lane drop on the downstream side of the intersection). For Type 2 intersection (misalignment of traffic lanes between the approach and downstream side) there was a considerable difference between the average paths followed by subjects for the two cases. For Type 3 intersection (shared left and through traffic lane approaching the intersection) the simulator experiment supported the fact that people get frustrated when trapped behind a left turning vehicle in a joint left and through lane intersection and take evasive actions to cross the intersection as soon as possible.
M.S.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Engineering and Computer Science
Civil Engineering

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Departamento de Ciência da Computação, 2017.
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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES).
Na última década, diversas aplicações multimídia tem gerado e distribuído conteúdos de imagens e vídeos digitais. Serviços de multimídia que tem ganhado um vasto interesse incluem televisão digital, jogos de vídeo e aplicações em tempo real operando sobre a Internet. De acordo com predições da CiscoTM, a percentagem do tráfego de dados de vídeo sobre a Internet era de 53% em 2014 e superará os 67% em 2018. Devido à esse aumento na demanda de conteúdo de dados visuais, a necessidade de métodos e ferramentas que estimem a qualidade da experiência (QoE) do consumidor é enorme. Entre os aspectos que contribuem para a QoE, a qualidade dos estímulos visuais é uma das maiores propriedades, pois pode ser alterada em diversos estágios da cadeia de comunicação, tal como na captura, na transmissão, ou na reprodução do conteúdo. Considerando que os avaliadores naturais da qualidade visual são seres humanos, a estratégia básica para medir a qualidade visual consiste na realização de experimentos subjetivos. Esses experimentos são geralmente realizados com participantes humanos em laboratórios preparados com um ambiente controlado. Esses participantes avaliam a qualidade de um dado estimulo visual (imagem ou vídeo) e atribuem a eles um valor numérico associado à qualidade. Para avaliar a qualidade, os participantes seguem um conjunto de passos experimentais. Geralmente, esses passos são padronizados para favorecer a reprodutibilidade experimental. Os padrões de experimentos incluem metodologias de avaliação, tais como condições de visualização, escala de avaliação, materiais, etc. Após um conjunto de participantes avaliarem individualmente a qualidade de um dado estímulo, a média dos valores é calculada para gerar o valor médio das opiniões subjetivas (MOS). O MOS é frequentemente utilizado para representar a qualidade geral de um dado estímulo visual. Como a coleta dos MOS é realizada a partir de experimentos com seres humanos, esse processo é demorado, cansativo, caro, e laborioso. Devido ao custo dos experimentos subjetivos, um grande esforço tem sido dedicado ao desenvolvimento de técnicas objetivas para a avaliação de estímulos visuais. Essas técnicas objetivas consistem em predizer o MOS automaticamente por meio de algoritmos computacionais. Tal automação torna possível a implementação de procedimentos computacionais rápidos e baratos para monitorar e controlar a qualidade de estímulos visuais. As técnicas objetivas para a avaliação de estímulos visuais podem ser classificadas em três tipos, dependendo da quantidade de informação necessária pelo método. Se todo o estímulo de referência (original) é requerido para a estimação da qualidade do estímulo testado, então essa técnica é classificada como sendo de referência completa. Quando somente alguma informação parcial da referência é necessária, a técnica é classificada como sendo de referência reduzida. Por outro lado, quando nenhuma informação sobre o estímulo de referência é necessária, a técnica é dita como sendo sem referência. Uma vez que a exigência de uma referência completa ou parcial é um obstáculo no desenvolvimento de diversas aplicações multimídia, as técnicas de sem referência são as mais convenientes na maioria dos casos. Diversas técnicas objetivas para avaliação de qualidade visual têm sido propostas, embora ainda existam algumas questões em aberto no seu desenvolvimento. No caso de técnicas de avaliação de imagens, diversas técnicas de referência completa têm sido produzidas com uma excelente performance. Por outro lado, técnicas que não utilizam referências ainda apresentam limitações quando múltiplas distorções estão presentes. Além disso, as técnicas sem referência para imagens mais eficientes ainda apresentam modelos computacionalmente custosos, o que limita a utilização desses métodos em várias aplicações multimídia. No caso de vídeos, o atual estado da arte ainda possui performance na predição dos MOS pior do que os métodos de imagens. Quando consideramos a acurácia da predição, os métodos objetivos para vídeos possuem uma correlação entre valores preditos e MOS ainda pequena se comparada com a correlação observada em métodos para imagens. Além disso, a complexidade computacional é ainda mais crítica no caso de vídeos, uma vez que a quantidade de informação processada é muito maior do que aquela presente em imagens. O desenvolvimento de uma técnica objetiva de avaliação de qualidade visual requer resolver três grandes problemas. O primeiro problema é determinar um conjunto de características que sejam relevantes na descrição da qualidade visual. Essas características, geralmente, referem-se às medidas de estímulos físicos, tais como quantificação da nitidez de borda, estatísticas de cenas naturais, estatísticas no domínio de curvlets, filtros de Prewitt, etc. Além disso, múltiplos tipos de características podem ser combinados para gerar um vetor de características que descrevem melhor a qualidade de um dado estímulo. O segundo problema é estabelecer uma estratégia de agrupamento das características de forma que os valores numéricos sejam descritivos dentro de um modelo. Esse agrupamento se refere a uma combinação de medidas através de um subespaço de medidas para representar o estímulo analisado. Finalmente, o terceiro problema é a criação de um modelo que mapeie as características agrupadas de forma que se correlacione com os dados preditos com os subjetivos. Neste trabalho, nós apresentamos uma investigação de métodos de avaliação de qualidade visual baseada na medição de texturas. A pressuposição é que degradações visuais alteram as texturas e as estatísticas dessas texturas em imagens e vídeos. Essas medidas são executadas em termos das estatísticas extraídas do operador de padrões binários locais (LBP) e suas extensões. Este operador foi escolhido porque ele unifica outros modelos de análise de texturas mais tradicionais, tais como o espectro de textura, o nível de cinza de comprimento (GLRLM) e as matrizes de co-ocorrência de níveis de cinza (GLCM). O operador LBP, sendo um algoritmo simples e que favorece implementações rápidas, possui propriedades muito úteis para sistemas de processamento em tempo real de imagens e vídeos. Devido às vantagens supracitadas, nós analisamos o operador LBP e algumas das suas extensões no estado da arte com o objetivo de investigar sua adequabilidade para o problema de avaliação de qualidade de imagens. Para isso, neste trabalho nós apresentamos uma extensa revisão do estado da arte dos operadores. Entre os operadores no estado da arte, podemos mencionar os padrões ternários locais (LTP), a quantização de fase local (LPQ), as estatísticas binarizadas de características de imagem (BSIF), os padrões locais binários rotacionados (RLBP), os padrões binários locais completos (CLBP), os padrões de configuração locais (LCP), entre outros. Ademais, nós também propomos novas extensões que melhoram a predição de qualidade. Entre as extensões propostas para a medida de características de qualidade, estão os padrões binários locais de múltipla escala (MLBP), os padrões ternários locais de múltipla escala (MLTP), os padrões de variância local (LVP), os padrões de planos ortogonais de cores (OCPP), os padrões binários locais salientes (SLBP) e os padrões binários locais salientes de múltipla escala (MSLBP). Para testar a adequabilidade dos operadores de texturas supracitados, propomos um arcabouço para utilizar esses operadores na produção de novas métricas de qualidade de imagens. Dessa forma, muitas métricas sem referência podem ser geradas a partir da estratégia proposta. Utilizando as métricas geradas a partir do arcabouço proposto, uma extensa análise comparativa é apresentada neste trabalho. Essa análise foi feita com três das mais populares bases de dados de qualidade imagens disponíveis, sendo elas a LIVE, CSIQ e TID 2013. Os resultados gerados a partir dos testes nessas bases demonstram que os operadores no estado da arte mais adequados para mensurar a qualidade de imagens são o BSIF, o LPQ e o CLBP. Todavia, os resultados também indicaram que os operadores propostos atingiram resultados ainda mais promissores, com as abordagens baseadas em múltiplas escalas apresentando os melhores desempenhos entre todas variações testadas. Inspirado nos resultados experimentais das métricas de imagens geradas, nós escolhemos um operador de textura conveniente para implementar uma métrica de avaliação de qualidade de vídeos. Além de incorporar informações de textura, nós também incorporamos informações de atividade espacial e informação temporal. Os resultados experimentais obtidos indicam que a métrica proposta tem uma performance consideravelmente superior quando testada em diversas bases de dados de vídeo de referência e supera os atuais modelos de qualidade vídeo.
In the last decade, many visual quality models have been proposed. However, there are some open questions involving the assessment of image and video quality. In the case of images, most of the proposed methods are very complex and require a reference content to estimate the quality, limiting their use in several multimedia application. For videos, the current state-of-the-art methods still perform worse than images in terms of prediction accuracy. In this work, we present an investigation of visual quality assessment methods based on texture measurements. The premise is that visual impairments alter image and video textures and their statistics. These measurements are performed regarding the statistics of the local binary pattern (LBP) operator and its extensions. We chosen LBP because it unifies traditional texture analysis models. In addition, LBP is a simple but effective algorithm that performs only fundamental operations, which favors fast and simple implementations, which is very useful for real-time image and video processing systems. Because of the abovementioned advantages, we analyzed the LBP operator and some of its state-of-the-art extensions addressing the problem of assessing image quality. Furthermore, we also propose new quality-aware LBP extensions to improve the prediction of quality. Then, we propose a framework for using these operators in order to produce new image quality metrics. Therefore, many no-reference image quality metrics can be generated from the proposed strategy. Inspired by experimental results of generated no-reference image quality metrics, we chosen a convenient texture operator to implement a full-reference video quality metric. In addition to the texture information, we also incorporate features including spatial activity, and temporal information. Experimental results indicated that our metric presents a superior performance when tested on several benchmark video quality databases, outperforming current state-of-the-art full-reference video quality metrics.

It is widely recognised that the perspective of the UK transport political agenda has shifted from the provision of services towards improving the quality management process, in order to alleviate the problems resulting from the accelerated car dependency. This political shift has imposed several demands on public transport, and specifically on bus services, to achieve sustainable and integrated transport solutions. It is evident that in order to attract more people to public transport, the service quality should be able to accommodate the quality level demanded by current customers, and importantly, the quality level desired by potential customers. However, the traditional quality management process has concentrated on the individual analysis of two quality measures: performance and perception, while it has failed to consider the multidimensional interrelationships between both measures and the side-effects of performance quality on user perception. This conflict represents an area of lacking research which forms the basis of this study to evaluate and optimise the performance quality of bus services with perception and attitude measures of both current and potential users. The study implemented a mixed method approach and collected data on user preference, satisfaction, and performance quality. Multiple techniques were operationalised including qualitative analysis of user perception, multi-perspective analysis of stakeholders towards the application relevance of bus quality indicators, analytical hierarchy process (AHP) modelling of user preferences, weighted perception index of current and potential users, and binary logistic regression analysis (BLRA) of the influences of performance quality on the perception of different categories of users. The combination of these techniques is operationalised to construct a novel methodological approach for evaluating bus quality that considers performance (objective) and perception (subjective) quality parameters and considers the perceptions of current and potential users. The study highlighted various contributions to knowledge: firstly, the study developed a concise set of bus quality indicators that considers the perspectives of all stakeholders and could be readily implemented across the sector. Secondly, the study found that although the preferences of users towards bus service vary significantly within context and level of involvement, ten indicators explain a significant share of the preferences of different categories of users towards bus services. Thirdly, the study identified that using only preference or satisfaction for evaluating user perception may lead to limited results, and the integration of both generates new patterns of weighted perception measure which distinctly explains the internal composition of user perception. Fourthly, the study found that eleven performance indicators have significant impact on the perception of current and potential users. Lastly, the study concluded by illustrating two alternatives for optimising the performance quality of bus services with the perceptions of current and potential users by balancing the required quality improvements with the current desire for economical recession.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is slowly transforming the U.S. Health Care System from a fee-for-service structure, which reimburses providers based on the quantity of patient encounters, to a new structure that emphasizes the value of care. Since value can be interpreted differently among various stakeholders, quality measures have been established by government and nonprofit sources. These quality measures serve as agreed-upon criteria by which to measure the achievement of value in health care. While these measures help to improve the quality of health care, they can also be burdensome to physicians and health care organizations. Implementation of quality measurement programs requires the involvement of highly intelligent people who think about what to measure, what to focus on, and how to accomplish outcomes. Thus, the process of selecting measures and compiling recommendations (reports) can be time consuming, complicated, and expensive. Applying SELP coursework fundamentals, key process activities outlined by INCOSE, and the DoD Architectural Framework, a quality measure information system was developed. The primary business objective (top level requirement) of the project was to reduce the cost and improve the quality of the measure selection and report generation processes. First, fundamental systems engineering principles were applied to understand the problem, conduct a lean analysis, identify stakeholders' needs, and derive a set of requirements to meet the primary business objective. Subsequently, five alternative solutions were evaluated to identify a preferred solution that could best meet the primary business objective while minimizing risk. The DoD Architectural Framework and course material from Integration of Hybrid Hardware and Software Systems (SELP 560) was then applied to develop, represent, and understand the information system architecture. Finally, leveraging Management Information Systems Coursework (MBAA 609), a system prototype was created utilizing Microsoft Access. The system prototype demonstrated a capability to reduce the cost and improve the quality of the health care quality measure selection and report generation processes. Utilizing pre-selected associations between various quality measures and categories of care, comprehensive quality measure reports can be generated in a matter of seconds for many categories of medical care. These comprehensive reports serve to educate users about various quality measures and to aid administrators in the development of comprehensive quality measurement programs. In one particular example, health care organizations will utilize the generated quality measure reports for the purpose of redesigning compensation and incentive pay for physicians and health care executives. In this particular example, estimates show that the system prototype is expected to reduce the labor associated with measure research and selection by approximately 49%, resulting in thousands of dollars of estimated savings. Additionally, the system will automate complicated measure search processes, which will increase the quality and consistency of the reported data.

The main purpose of this thesis is to develop a data quality scorecard (DQS) that aligns the data quality needs of the Data warehouse stakeholder group with selected data quality dimensions. To comprehend the research domain, a general and systematic literature review (SLR) was carried out, after which the research scope was established. Using Design Science Research (DSR) as the methodology to structure the research, three iterations were carried out to achieve the research aim highlighted in this thesis. In the first iteration, as DSR was used as a paradigm, the artefact was build from the results of the general and systematic literature review conduct. A data quality scorecard (DQS) was conceptualised. The result of the SLR and the recommendations for designing an effective scorecard provided the input for the development of the DQS. Using a System Usability Scale (SUS), to validate the usability of the DQS, the results of the first iteration suggest that the DW stakeholders found the DQS useful. The second iteration was conducted to further evaluate the DQS through a run through in the FMCG domain and then conducting a semi-structured interview. The thematic analysis of the semi-structured interviews demonstrated that the stakeholder's participants' found the DQS to be transparent; an additional reporting tool; Integrates; easy to use; consistent; and increases confidence in the data. However, the timeliness data dimension was found to be redundant, necessitating a modification to the DQS. The third iteration was conducted with similar steps as the second iteration but with the modified DQS in the oil and gas domain. The results from the third iteration suggest that DQS is a useful tool that is easy to use on a daily basis. The research contributes to theory by demonstrating a novel approach to DQS design This was achieved by ensuring the design of the DQS aligns with the data quality concern areas of the DW stakeholders and the data quality dimensions. Further, this research lay a good foundation for the future by establishing a DQS model that can be used as a base for further development.

Aim: To use published literature to obtain estimates of large, medium and small differences in quality of life (QOL) data for the European Organisation for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30). Methods: An innovative method combining systematic review of published studies, expert opinions and meta-analysis was used to obtain estimates of large, medium and small differences for QLQ-C30 scores. Published mean data were identified from the literature. Differences between groups of patients and over time within patients were reviewed by 34 experts in QOL measurement and cancer treatment. The experts, blinded to QOL results, were asked to predict these differences. Differences were combined using meta-analytic techniques to obtain estimates of small, medium and large effects. Qualitative interviews with patients and experts were used to assess the new methodology. Results: 911 articles were identified, with 211 relevant articles (3444 contrasts) for the analysis. Our systematic reviewof the randomised controlled trials (RCTs) showed that the clinical relevance of QOL differences was rarely discussed. Our meta-analysis estimates varied depending on the subscale and on whether QOL was improving or deteriorating. Thus, the recommended minimum to detect medium differences between groups ranges from 7 (diarrhoea) to 19 points (role functioning). When interpreting differences over time a minimum of 7 points represents a medium difference but for most subscales a larger difference is required for a medium deterioration compared with a medium improvement. Conclusion: Guidelines for interpreting the size of effects are provided for the QLQ- C30 subscales. These guidelines can be used for sample size calculations for clinical trials and to interpret differences in QLQ-C30 scores. The novel methodology was shown to be robust in sensitivity analyses but benefitted from a thorough quality assessment and using only the best quality evidence to derive the guidelines.

Background: The ability to measure health and the value of improving or declining health is crucial to the evaluation of health care interventions. Many generic and disease specific health status measures exist for use in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The Overall Status in Rheumatoid Arthritis (OSRA) measure is a new and simple measure with early evidence of construct validity. Generic health profiles with attached utility weights such as the EuroQol EQ-5D and the SF-6D (calculated from the Medical Outcome Study 36-item short-form health survey) allow the quantification of a patient's health relative to perfect health and death, and can be used to estimate quality adjusted life years (QALYs). The EQ-5D is extensively used in RA, but has potential limitations. The SF-6D appears to have potential, but needs further evaluation. The aim of this thesis was to assess the validity and responsiveness of the EQ5D, SF-6D and OSRA in UK RA patients, and compare the performance and implications of the use of the EQ-5D and SF-6D.Methods and subjects: Patient data were obtained from three sources; the Steroids in Very Early Arthritis (STIVEA) (n=256) and British Rheumatoid arthritis Outcome Study Group (BROSG) (n=466) randomised controlled trials, and the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register (BSRBR) (n=129). The data used included lifestyle and demographic factors, disease activity (DAS28), functional disability (HAQ), X-rays to assess erosive damage, the EQ-5D and the SF-6D. The OSRA was collected only in the BROSG trial. Visual analogue scales (VAS) of pain and fatigue were collected in BROSG and STIVEA. Construct validity was tested by correlating the EQ-5D, SF-6D and OSRA with a range of outcome measures for RA. Responsiveness to change was assessed using minimum important differences (MID), effect size (ES) and standardised response means (SRM), and compared using ratios. EQ-5D profiles placing arthritis patients in utility states 'worse than death' (negative scores) were described and assessed using linear and logistic regression. The implications of using the EQ-5D and SF-6D in economic evaluation were compared by cost-effectiveness analyses of the BROSG trial. Results: The correlation of the EQ-5D and SF-6D was moderate to high (0.67). Both measures had moderate to high correlations with disease activity, physical function, joint damage and fatigue. The OSRA Activity (OSRA-A) and Damage (OSRA-D) correlated strongly with measures of related aspects of disease. The EQ-5D, SF-6D and OSRA discriminated between known differences in health status across groups defined by social deprivation and disease activity. The EQ-5D MID was 0.04 for improvement and 0.10 for deterioration. The SF-6D MID was 0.04 in both directions. The SF-6D was more responsive to improvement (EQ-5D: SF-6D ES ratio 0.78-0.88) and the EQ-5D more responsive to deterioration (ES ratio 1.14) in health. The OSRA-A was the most sensitive disease specific measure in the BROSG trial, and the OSRA-D was more responsive than the HAQ. The factors associated with being in a 'worse than death' health state were male gender, the HAQ, SF-36 mental composite scale, pain VAS, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (a marker of inflammation). Pain was the predominant factor and was scored at the most extreme level in every worse than death profile. The cost-effectiveness analyses (BROSG trial), found net quality adjusted life years (QALYs) were greater for the EQ-5D (0.07) than the SF-6D (0.05), but had higher variance than the SF-6D. Conclusions: The EQ-5D and SF-6D appear valid and responsive to changes in health in RA, but measure subtly different aspects of health. There are issues with both measures, and cost-effectiveness conclusions of a study could differ according to which measure was used. The EQ-5D may be more likely to demonstrate that an intervention is cost effective than the SF-6D, due to its larger mean change in response to change in health status. The OSRA is valid for use in RA and its responsiveness suggests potential for inclusion in clinical trials.

The approach to rural water supply and management in developing countries is a concern for world organisations and national governments. There is an increasing need for a shift from a centralised infrastructure, which often are not functional to decentralised systems such as rainwater harvesting. With increasing water demand and flood risks, the value of RWH is gaining more recognition worldwide within the academic and policymakers. However, in Nigeria, recognition of RWH as a reliable source of water within government circles is not strong enough to prompt policy statements or actions to promote RWH. Social, technical barriers, as Well as concerns and knowledge gaps exits which impedes government adoption of RWH nationally as a reliable source of drinking water. This research intends to promote large-scale RWH by developing a grading scale to compare risks to human health associated with water from rainwater harvesting and other drinking water sources. The index will grade drinking water sources based on health risk to give a better understanding of the risk associated with each drinking water source. Aiming to encourage policy and investment shift towards rainwater harvesting. Fieldwork was undertaken in a rural community, and drinking water sources were investigated. Microbiological; thermotolerant coliform bacteria and physicochemical; metals, pH, temperature, turbidity parameters of the water sources were assessed. Also, sanitary inspection of the drinking water sources was conducted. The sanitary inspection scores presented RWH systems as having lower sanitary risk scores when compared with scores from the Stream and Well sources. In the perception survey conducted, professional and end-users seem to think that rainwater is a good source of drinking. While the professionals are slightly concerned about water quality, the end-users are ready to make their choice of drinking water source based on appearance, smell, the taste of the water. The microbial and physicochemical tests conducted indicate that the coliform load of water samples from the rainwater tanks were less than that of other sources. However, tanks-2, which has a simple water filter installed at the tank inlet, recorded zero faecal coliform and total coliform if the filter was in place. The physicochemical parameters of the rainwater samples were mostly either below limits of detection or below WHO recommendations and standards, unlike the other sources. Quantitative health risk assessment was carried out using the microbial results leading to the calculation of disability-adjusted life years for each drinking water source. The integration of DALYs, sanitary inspection and perception scores formed the health risk index. The DALYs and the Health Risk Index presents water samples from RWH sources as less contaminated than samples from the Streams and Wells. Policy shift for large-scale rainwater harvesting was suggested and suggestion of further research work to validate the findings of the research were made.

Enterprise information systems are increasingly being developed as distributed information systems. Quality attributes of distributed information systems, as in the centralised case, should be evaluated as early and as accurately as possible in the software engineering process. In particular, software measures associated with quality attributes of such systems should consider the characteristics of modern distributed technologies. Early design decisions have a deep impact on the implementation of distributed enterprise information systems and thus, on the ultimate quality of the software as an operational entity. Due to the fact that the distributed-software engineering process affords software engineers a number of design alternatives, it is important to develop tools and guidelines that can be used to assess and compare design artefacts quantitatively. This dissertation makes a contribution to the field of Software Engineering by proposing and evaluating software design measures for distributed enterprise information systems. In previous research, measures developed for distributed software have been focused in code attributes, and thus, only provide feedback towards the end of the software engineering process. In contrast, this thesis proposes a number of specific design measures that provide quantitative information before the implementation. These measures capture attributes of the structure and behaviour of distributed information systems that are deemed important to assess their quality attributes, based on the analysis of the problem domain. The measures were evaluated theoretically and empirically as part of a well defined methodology. On the one hand, we have followed a formal framework based on the theory of measurement, in order to carry out the theoretical validation of the proposed measures. On the other hand, the suitability of the measures, to be used as indicators of quality attributes, was evaluated empirically with a robust statistical technique for exploratory research. The data sets analysed were gathered after running several experiments and replications with a distributed enterprise information system. The results of the empirical evaluation show that most of the proposed measures are correlated to the quality attributes of interest, and that most of these measures may be used, individually or in combination, for the estimation of these quality attributes-namely efficiency, reliability and maintainability. The design of a distributed information system is modelled as a combination of its structure, which reflects static characteristics, and its behaviour, which captures complementary dynamic aspects. The behavioural measures showed slightly better individual and combined results than the structural measures in the experimentation. This was in line with our expectations, since the measures were evaluated as indicators of non-functional quality attributes of the operational system. On the other hand, the structural measures provide useful feedback that is available earlier in the software engineering process. Finally, we developed a prototype application to collect the proposed measures automatically and examined typical real-world scenarios where the measures may be used to make design decisions as part of the software engineering process.

Trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) is one of the most common tree species in the boreal and temperate forests of North America. It grows on many different sites and associates with a variety of tree species. In BC, aspen is frequent throughout all submontane and montane continental forested zones. Relationships between environmental factors and forest productivity have been the subjects of many studies. Most of these studies, using various topographic, soil, physical and chemical properties as independent variables, had limited success in accounting for the variation in SI over a large geographic area. The objectives of this study were (1) to quantify relationships between aspen SI and environmental factors at two spatial scales, and (2) to develop predictive SI models from easily measurable environmental factors.

A silviculturist needs to know how productivity of all tree species under management varies with the ecological determinants of site quality, i.e., the environmental factors that directly affect the growth of plants - light, heat, soil moisture, soil nutrients, and soil aeration. A good understanding of this variation is necessary for making biologically viable, speciesand site specific silvicultural decisions. Productivity of a given species is usually measured by site index (top tree height at 50 years at breast height age). Quantified relationships between site index of a given species and ecological measures of site quality provide predictive models for estimating site index for all sites on which the species may grow. Western larch (Larix occidentalis Nutt.) is an important tree species in southern central and eastern British Columbia. It grows mainly in the IDF, ICH, and MS zones on moderately dry through very moist sites and on poor through very rich sites. In view of this relatively wide ecological amplitude, a large variation in productivity could be expected. In the study summarized here, relationships between larch site index and selected ecological measures of site quality were examined, and a site index model using these measures as predictors was developed.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2008.
Title from electronic title page (viewed Sep. 16, 2008). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Education." Discipline: Education; Department/School: Education.

In today's worldwide competitive environment, contracting companies are competing in terms of product quality, delivery, reliability and customer satisfaction. In current literature, models of performance measures for contracting companies and construction projects have limitations and shortcomings. They depend mainly on financial measures. These are no longer sufficient to ensure survival and continued profitability in time of change. New measures of performance at the different levels of contracting companies are, therefore, needed. The relatively new performance measurement technique of benchmarking has been widely applied as a powerful performance management concept. However, current published literature does not provide satisfactory proof of its successful implementation in contracting companies. This research addresses these two major weaknesses. Firstly, a methodology using Nominal Group Technique and Delphi Technique was explained and applied to obtain consensus performance measures for construction projects. New performance measures appropriate to construction projects, together with each element's relative importance, were developed. The consensus covers project managers, senior managers and top management. Secondly, quality measures appropriate to construction projects, together with each measure's relative importance, were developed. Thirdly, new performance measures appropriate to contracting organizations were developed. The development of these measures and the determination of their relative importance depend upon: the strategic direction of the organization which reflects the current business and market conditions; the type of construction work; the organization structure; and the development of the management staff within the organization. Fourthly, the implementation of the new performance measures using benchmarking as a management tool for performance measurement and improvement was carried out in one of the largest contracting organizations in the Middle East, the Arab Contractors, Osman A. Osman & Co. The implementation was carried out over a period of five years. Sixteen company branches implemented the measurement system. Each branch was considered as an independent contracting company. The results showed that the use of the new performance measures and the implementation of benchmarking in the company were very effective and led to successful and improved performance.

Background and Objectives Menopause is a natural transition, an important life event that represents the end of reproductive phase in women at age of 50. Menopausal symptoms or hormone replacement treatment (HRT) may influence women’s quality of life (QOL). Different health-related quality of life (HRQOL) scales are developed to demonstrate the effects of menopausal symptoms or treatment. The aim of this review is to identify the menopause-related measures and evaluate the psychometric properties of these scales. Method Literature search using the keyword: “menopause” or “menopausal” or “perimenopausal” or “climacteric symptoms” or “vasomotor symptoms” AND “menopause-related quality of life measures” or “menopause-related quality of life instruments” or “menopausal health-related quality of life measures” or “menopausal health-related quality of life instruments” or “menopause-related health status measurement” or “menopause-related health functioning” AND “women”. Results Total 5 menopause-related quality of life measures were identified: -the MENCAV Quality of Life Scale (MENCAV) -Menopause-specific QOL Questionnaire (MENQOL) -Menopause-specific QOL Questionnaire-Intervention (MENQOL-Intervention) -Menopausal Quality of Life Scale (MQOL) -Utian Quality of Life Scale (UQOL) All measurement scales have good internal consistency shown. Construct validity was reported in all measures. Known-groups validity was evaluated in MQOL and MENCAV. Content validity was shown in MQOL and UQOL by focus group meeting with menopausal women. Construct validity was reported in all measures. Convergent validity was reported in MQOL, MENCAV, UQOL and MENQOL-Intervention, the relationships between scores were evaluated. Discriminant validity was assessed in MENQOL. All measures reviewed either convergent or discriminant validity and no measure reviewed both. All measures except UQOL have reported responsiveness. Conclusion MENCAV is the best measure and supposed to be the most updated one developed in 2008. This measure is not as popular as UQOL, MENQOL etc. It demonstrated the highest psychometric quality score in this review. Standardization of measurement scales for comparison of the menopausal symptoms and QOL can reduce the anxiety of participants who answer different questionnaires with same domain. Further research on extensive psychometric evaluation across ethnicities may be beneficial to menopausal women.
published_or_final_version
Public Health
Master
Master of Public Health

A review of traction and hardness Performance Quality Standard tests highlighted significant relationships with soil and grass factors. Inadequate guidance to achieve test results through pitch management means that management practices can not focus on injury prevention or playing quality. A clear link between factors that can be managed by Groundsmen and the traction and hardness tests is required. The concept of effective stress significantly linked moisture status to soil strength in the laboratory. Penetration resistance was shown to be complex and affected by grass roots and bulk density, which prevented a single model encompassing all soil types to be established. Prediction of traction and hardness used grass and soil factors and varied according to soil type and wet or dry test conditions. In situ tests showed no variation due to pitch test position and as sand content increased, prediction became less reliable. A decision support model used the regression results to provide Groundsmen with the ability to monitor pitch quality in real-time. Effective stress successfully linked moisture status and strength although in situ verification is required. Regression analysis and the decision support model will assist Groundsmen in managing pitches while targeting playing quality. Further research to understand how management practices impact on quality and to understand the link between injury rates and type, and the results of traction and hardness tests is required. This knowledge will enable a company to simultaneously differentiate itself from competition and create a barrier to potential entrants.

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The main topics of study in this thesis are the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Canonical Variate Analysis (CVA) biplots, with the primary focus falling on the quality measures associated with these biplots. A detailed study of different routes along which PCA and CVA can be derived precedes the study of the PCA biplot and CVA biplot respectively. Different perspectives on PCA and CVA highlight different aspects of the theory that underlie PCA and CVA biplots respectively and so contribute to a more solid understanding of these biplots and their interpretation. PCA is studied via the routes followed by Pearson (1901) and Hotelling (1933). CVA is studied from the perspectives of Linear Discriminant Analysis, Canonical Correlation Analysis as well as a two-step approach introduced in Gower et al. (2011). The close relationship between CVA and Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) also receives some attention. An explanation of the construction of the PCA biplot is provided subsequent to the study of PCA. Thereafter follows an in depth investigation of quality measures of the PCA biplot as well as the relationships between these quality measures. Specific attention is given to the effect of standardisation on the PCA biplot and its quality measures. Following the study of CVA is an explanation of the construction of the weighted CVA biplot as well as two different unweighted CVA biplots based on the two-step approach to CVA. Specific attention is given to the effect of accounting for group sizes in the construction of the CVA biplot on the representation of the group structure underlying a data set. It was found that larger groups tend to be better separated from other groups in the weighted CVA biplot than in the corresponding unweighted CVA biplots. Similarly it was found that smaller groups tend to be separated to a greater extent from other groups in the unweighted CVA biplots than in the corresponding weighted CVA biplot. A detailed investigation of previously defined quality measures of the CVA biplot follows the study of the CVA biplot. It was found that the accuracy with which the group centroids of larger groups are approximated in the weighted CVA biplot is usually higher than that in the corresponding unweighted CVA biplots. Three new quality measures that assess that accuracy of the Pythagorean distances in the CVA biplot are also defined. These quality measures assess the accuracy of the Pythagorean distances between the group centroids, the Pythagorean distances between the individual samples and the Pythagorean distances between the individual samples and group centroids in the CVA biplot respectively.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die hoofonderwerpe van studie in hierdie tesis is die Hoofkomponent Analise (HKA) bistipping asook die Kanoniese Veranderlike Analise (KVA) bistipping met die primêre fokus op die kwaliteitsmaatstawwe wat daarmee geassosieer word. ’n Gedetailleerde studie van verskillende roetes waarlangs HKA en KVA afgelei kan word, gaan die studie van die HKA en KVA bistippings respektiewelik vooraf. Verskillende perspektiewe op HKA en KVA belig verskillende aspekte van die teorie wat onderliggend is tot die HKA en KVA bistippings respektiewelik en dra sodoende by tot ’n meer breedvoerige begrip van hierdie bistippings en hulle interpretasies. HKA word bestudeer volgens die roetes wat gevolg is deur Pearson (1901) en Hotelling (1933). KVA word bestudeer vanuit die perspektiewe van Linieêre Diskriminantanalise, Kanoniese Korrelasie-analise sowel as ’n twee-stap-benadering soos voorgestel in Gower et al. (2011). Die noue verwantskap tussen KVA en Meerveranderlike Analise van Variansie (MANOVA) kry ook aandag. ’n Verduideliking van die konstruksie van die HKA bistipping word voorsien na afloop van die studie van HKA. Daarna volg ’n indiepte-ondersoek van die HKA bistipping kwaliteitsmaatstawwe sowel as die onderlinge verhoudings tussen hierdie kwaliteitsmaatstawe. Spesifieke aandag word gegee aan die effek van die standaardisasie op die HKA bistipping en sy kwaliteitsmaatstawe. Opvolgend op die studie van KVA is ’n verduideliking van die konstruksie van die geweegde KVA bistipping sowel as twee veskillende ongeweegde KVA bistippings gebaseer op die twee-stap-benadering tot KVA. Spesifieke aandag word gegee aan die effek wat die inagneming van die groepsgroottes in die konstruksie van die KVA bistipping op die voorstelling van die groepstruktuur onderliggend aan ’n datastel het. Daar is gevind dat groter groepe beter geskei is van ander groepe in die geweegde KVA bistipping as in die oorstemmende ongeweegde KVA bistipping. Soortgelyk daaraan is gevind dat kleiner groepe tot ’n groter mate geskei is van ander groepe in die ongeweegde KVA bistipping as in die oorstemmende geweegde KVA bistipping. ’n Gedetailleerde ondersoek van voorheen gedefinieerde kwaliteitsmaatstawe van die KVA bistipping volg op die studie van die KVA bistipping. Daar is gevind dat die akkuraatheid waarmee die groepsgemiddeldes van groter groepe benader word in die geweegde KVA bistipping, gewoonlik hoër is as in die ooreenstemmende ongeweegde KVA bistippings. Drie nuwe kwaliteitsmaatstawe wat die akkuraatheid van die Pythagoras-afstande in die KVA bistipping meet, word gedefinieer. Hierdie kwaliteitsmaatstawe beskryf onderskeidelik die akkuraatheid van die voorstelling van die Pythagoras-afstande tussen die groepsgemiddeldes, die Pythagoras-afstande tussen die individuele observasies en die Pythagoras-afstande tussen die individuele observasies en groepsgemiddeldes in die KVA bistipping.

Cervical cancer, a completely curable disease with early detection and management, is an international concern. Early identification allows for treatment of the disease, which prevents or slows progression, ultimately reducing morbidity and mortality. Due to the regressive nature of most cervical lesions, the duration between cervical cytology has been lengthened to prevent over diagnosis and treatment. This was reflected in the 2012 United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) clinical practice guideline for cervical cancer screening. The purpose of this project was to determine the effectiveness of a quality improvement initiative to increase adherence to the 2012 USPSTF guideline at a volunteer medical clinic for the working uninsured. In this retrospective, time series observational evaluation, data were collected via chart review regarding adherence to the guideline. The intervention consisted of the placement of a visual algorithm educational tool for clinical decision-making for cervical cytology screening in each exam room. Data were collected during three time periods: (1) the 3 months prior to initial education of clinic staff regarding the guideline; (2) the 3months between initial education and introduction of the algorithm; and (3) the 3 months post introduction of the algorithm. A total of 335 charts were reviewed. There was a significant difference in the proportion of appropriate screening among the three groups (Χ2= 6.83 p=.03). There was also a significant difference in appropriate screening rates between the new and established patients’ group, controlling for group (p<.0001). The use of the interventional algorithm is recommended to improve adherence to evidence-based practice guideline related to cervical screening as it decreases harm(s) to the patient by reduction of fear, cost to the patient, and overtreatment of benign regressive lesions.

Ecosystem-specific forest management requires comprehension of tree species productivity in managed settings, and how this productivity varies with the ecological determinants of site quality, i.e., the environmental factors that directly affect the growth of plants: light, heat, soil moisture, soil nutrients, and soil aeration. A good understanding of this variation is necessary for making species- and site-specific silvicultural decisions to maximize productivity. Productivity of a given species is usually measured by site index (tree height at 50 years at breast height age). Quantitative relationships between site index and these measures of site quality provide predictive models for estimating site index. Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis (Dougl. ex Loud.) Forbes) is an important timber crop species in the coastal forests of British Columbia. In relation to climate, its range in southwestern British Columbia extends from sea level to almost timberline, and from the hypermaritime region on western Vancouver Island to the subcontinental region on the leeward side of the Coast Mountains. In relation to soils, its range extends from slightly dry to wet sites and from very poor to very rich sites. In view of this relatively wide climatic amplitude, a large variability in productivity can be expected. It is particularly important to consider the growth performance of Pacific silver fir when decisions are made regarding whether or not to cut stands on high-elevation sites. In the study summarized here, relationships between Pacific silver fir site index and selected ecological measures of site quality were examined, and site index models using these measures as predictors were developed.

A study was undertaken to identify the effect of head flexion/extension on singing voice quality. The amplitude of the fundamental frequency (F0), and the singing power ratio (SPR), an indirect measure of singer’s formant activity, were measured. F0 and SPR scores at four experimental head positions were compared with the subjects’ scores at their habitual positions. Three vowels and three pitch levels were tested. F0 amplitudes and low frequency partials in general were greater with more extended head positions, while SPR increased with neck flexion. No effect of pitch or vowel was found. Gains in SPR appear to be the result of damping low frequency partials rather than amplifying those in the singer’s formant region. Raising the amplitude of F0 is an important resonance tool for female voices in the high range, and may be of benefit to other voice types in resonance, loudness, and laryngeal function.

Define the role/function of an interprofessional team in the management of complex outpatients. Identify the types of patients that would benefit most from a team-based approach. Implement elements of our team-based patient care model into individual practices.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited
The existing INFOCON system is an information warning system that the DOD maintains. It is not formally correlated to other warning systems, such as DEFCON, FPCON/THREATCON, WATCHCONs, SANS INFOCON, or the Homeland Security Advisory System Threat condition. The criteria for each INFOCON level are subjective. The INFOCON recommended actions are a mix of policy and general technical measures. The INFOCON system vaguely follows the Defense in Depth network defense methodology. This thesis examines the foundations for the existing INFOCON system and presents an evolved INFOCON system. The focus will be on the security of the DOD information infrastructure and the accomplishment of the mission, as well as the usability and the standardization of the INFOCON warning system. The end result is a prototype that is a set of predefined escalation scripts for the evolved INFOCON system's safeguard measures.
Civilian, Federal Cyber Service Corps, Naval Postgraduate School

With healthcare organizations struggling to remain competitive and financially stable in a market where minimizing costs is a priority, hospital administrators feel the sense of urgency when it comes to keeping patients satisfied with services in order to expand volume and market share. The Emergency Department is considered the front door of a healthcare organization, and keeping its visitors satisfied in order to guarantee a future visit or a referral to a friend or family member is a must. While patient input on the services received in a healthcare facility is essential to improving quality of care, the costs associated with measuring, collecting and analyzing their feedback are remarkable. This research focuses on developing a linear regression model to predict patient satisfaction in the ED using surrogate measures related to patient's socio-demographic characteristics and visit characteristics. With a model of this kind, healthcare administrators can potentially eliminate survey costs while still being able to determine where the hospital stands in the eyes of the patient. Three modeling approaches were used to develop a multiple regression equation. Modeling approach 1 used monthly patient satisfaction scores as the dependent variable collected by a third-party survey organization. The goal of this model was to predict monthly patient satisfaction scores. Modeling approach 2 used patient satisfaction scores collected by the discharge registrar prior to the patient leaving the ED. The goal of this model was to predict patient satisfaction scores on a patient-by-patient basis. Modeling approach 3 used patient satisfaction scores collected by a third-party survey organization. The goal of this modeling approach was to predict patient satisfaction scores on a patient-by-patient basis. Each modeling approach developed in this study used its own survey tool. Though this study had limitations when it came to developing the models and validating the findings, results are very promising. Analysis shows that predicting average patient satisfaction scores on a monthly basis gives the most accurate results, with socio-demographic characteristics and visit characteristics explaining 96% of variation in monthly average patient satisfaction scores. Other model indicators, such as normality of residuals, predicted error, mean square error, and predicted R-square show that the model fits the data very well and has strong predictive ability. Models that attempted to predict patient satisfaction on a patient-by-patient basis appeared to be ineffective, with very large predicted errors and prediction intervals and low predictive ability.
Ph.D.
Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems
Engineering and Computer Science
Industrial Engineering PhD

ITC/USA 2008 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Fourth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 27-30, 2008 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California
The integrated Network Enhanced Telemetry effort (iNET) was launched to create a telemetry network that will enhance the traditional point-to-point telemetry link from test articles (TAs) to ground stations (GS). Two of the critical needs identified by the Central Test and Evaluation Investment Program (CTEIP) are, "the need to be able to provide reliable coverage in potentially high capacity environments, even in Over-The-Horizon (OTH) settings", and "the need to make more efficient use of spectrum resources through dynamic sharing of said resources, based on instantaneous demand thereof". Research conducted at Morgan State University (MSU) has focused on providing solutions for both critical problems. The Mixed Network architecture developed by MSU has shown that a hybrid network can be used to provide coverage for TAs that are beyond the coverage area of the GS. The mixed network uses clustering techniques to partition the aggregate network into clusters or sub-networks based on properties of each TA, which currently include signal strengths, and location. The paper starts with a detailed analysis of two parameters that affect the performance of each sub-network: contention between the TAs in the mobile ad-hoc network, and queuing at the Gateway TAs that serve as the link between the mobile ad-hoc and the Cellular networks. Contention and queuing will be used to evaluate two performance (distance) measures for each sub-network: throughput and delay. We define a new distance measure known as "power", which is equal to the ratio of throughput over delay, and is used as a measure of performance of the mixed network for Quality of Service (QOS). This paper describes the analytical foundation used to prove that the "power" performance measure is an excellent tool for optimizing the clustering of a mixed network to provide QOS.

ABSTRACT Health-related quality of life (HRQL) is becoming a common outcome for many medical and rehabilitative studies. This is specifically true for multiple sclerosis (MS), one of the most common chronic neurological condition affecting young adults. As MS results in severe consequences, its management depends on careful assessment of the outcome of interest. Measures of HRQL should represent all domains of HRQL and should be based on a theoretical frame of reference. The main objective of this content analysis study is to estimate the extent to which items in the MS-specific HRQL measures capture all domains of HRQL, using the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF) and the Wilson-Cleary models as frames of reference. Items of 10 HRQL measures were linked to the ICF by a pool of 25 health professionals using a standardized procedure. Among the 550 items that were mapped, 44% represented symptoms, 34% represented functioning and 35% represented concepts of general health perception and satisfaction with quality of life. Only 6% of the items targeted environmental factors. Measures differed not only in the degree of representing the different components of HRQL but also in the ways of ascertaining a single construct, fatigue, one of the most distressing MS symptom.
ABRÉGÉ La qualité de vie reliée à la santé (QRVS) devient de plus en plus l'objectif principal des recherches en réadaptation et en médicine. Les études portant sur la sclérose en plaque (SP) visent particulièrement des résultats pouvant améliorer la qualité de vie des personnes. En effet, la sclérose en plaque (SP) est une condition neurologique chronique qui affecte principalement de jeunes adultes. Cette maladie résulte en de sévères symptômes. Une meilleure compréhension de la gestion de ces symptômes dépend principalement de la précaution et de la précision des évaluations. Les mesures de qualité de vie reliée à la santé (QRVS) devraient représenter tous les domaines de ce qu'est la QRVS. De plus, ces mesures devraient se référer à un modèle théorique définit. L'objectif principal de cette étude est d'estimer à quel point les mesures évaluant la qualité de vie reliées à la santé (QVRS) utilisées pour la sclérose en plaque permettent de saisir l'entièreté des domaines de la QVRS. Chaque item de ces mesures sera analysé en utilisant comme référence le modèle Classification internationale du fonctionnement, du handicap et de la santé (CIF) et le modèle Wilson-Cleary. Selon une méthodologie standardisée, vingt-cinq professionnels de la santé ont reliés au modèle ICF les items de 10 questionnaires évaluant la QVRS. Parmi ces 550 items, 44% représentaient des symptômes, 34% représentaient le niveau de fonctionnement, 35% portaient sur la conception de la santé et la satisfaction par rapport à la vie. Seuls 6% portaient sur des facteurs environnementaux. Les différents aspects de la QVRS étaient représent

The quality of healthcare is increasingly the subject of scrutiny by a range of stakeholders, including healthcare provider organisations, health professionals and their representative bodies, healthcare purchasers and funders, policy makers and national governments, patients and users of health services. The use of a variety of quality measures has become widespread in the healthcare systems of many developed countries, including the United Kingdom. The twin tasks of measuring and improving the quality of care - often termed quality assurance - have been addressed by new arrangements for professional accountability, new approaches to managing and comparing organisational performance, and new statutory and legal mechanisms. Adverse events in healthcare, which can be loosely defined as instances which indicate or may indicate that a patient has received poor quality care, offer an important opportunity for quality measurement and improvement. There is extensive evidence that adverse events are relatively common, that they can have serious and lasting impacts on patients, and that they represent a considerable cost to healthcare organisations. Equally importantly, evidence in healthcare and experience in other sectors suggests that adverse events offer an important insight into the strengths and weaknesses of healthcare processes, and an invaluable opportunity to bring about improvements in the quality of care. Adverse events have been used quite widely, particularly in the United States of America, as the basis of a number of measures of the quality of healthcare. However, these measures have rarely been developed and tested rigorously before they have entered widespread usage, and there has been considerable debate about their advantages and disadvantages. A series of empirical studies were undertaken, using data collected through the use of adverse-event measures of quality in a British acute hospital, aimed at investigating the validity and reliability of those measures. The results showed that the adverse-event measures being tested had moderate to good face, content and construct validity. Although their validity was capable of improvement, it was still clear that they were measuring meaningful and important dimensions of the quality of healthcare. However, the reliability of the measures being tested was more mixed. While experimental studies of interrater and intrarater reliability indicated that they had moderate to good reliability (though, again, it was capable of improvement) observational studies suggested that the reliability in actual use might be lower than that found during testing. This research concludes that adverse-event measures of quality are important measures of the quality of healthcare, which should be used in healthcare quality assurance with two main provisos. Firstly, the development of measures should be more rigorous, and should pay more attention to both validity and reliability issues. Secondly, the routine use of such measures should incorporate some element of ongoing reliability testing, in order to ensure that good reliability is maintained.