Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Video description – Technological innovations'

Digital Video Communication (DVC) is an emerging technology which ultimately extends to include applications of "Virtual Reality" where both computers and participants interact in created worlds: "worlds of information, hubs, data bases and networks," which overlay "the physical manifestations of power, walls, boundaries, highways and cities" (Mulgan, 1991, p.3). This new technology combines the power of the current visual media with the power of the computer, creating an intelligent communication system with increased data capacity, greater reliability and a greater potential for synergism. The direction and development of DVC can be influenced by the key stakeholders with interests in the business, industry service and entertainment sector of technology. Knowledge of the interpretive frameworks that key stakeholders use to understand DVC may help to clarify the present and future courses of DVC. In particular the possibility of public influence on the emergence of DVC is examined. This study, then, is an attempt to describe the ways in which key stakeholders understand the emergence of DVC as revealed by their communication about DVC. The analysis therefore emerges from the described experiences of the people who comprise the study group To achieve this, detailed secondary analyses of interviews with twenty of Australia's key stakeholders in the emergence of DVC were conducted. Follow-up interviews were conducted with twelve of the original respondents to review the original transcripts as well as to establish a longitudinal perspective. Theoretically, the study is anchored in the debate regarding technological determinism. The thesis takes the perspective that an extreme determinist stance must be rejected as part of the process of making decisions and implementation of this emerging technology. The themes of analysis revealed in the study were: • The Technological Mindset, • The Economic Rationalist Mindset, • Decision Making, Control and Knowledge, • Participation and Consultation, • New Technology and Information Access. In place of a deterministic model for technology, DVC will be viewed as being socially constructed. However, it is argued that a holistic, co-evolutionary approach be adopted for introducing new technologies such as DVC where there is an emphasis on human values and human actions which affect future systems outcomes (Stevenson, 1992). In sum, this thesis will argue that the process of technological development ought to be open to the influence by the "collective will." This development should not assume the diffusion of technology through society and thereby become a singular power of repressive interest to enforce ownership and participation (Hill, 1988), but rather it should merge economic and social goals with individual goals, and in doing so, recognise that different types of ends must necessarily co-exist in any system of communication (Mulgan, 1991).

The purpose of this thesis is to present and analyze the innovations in the home video game industry and their impact on the competitive strategies of the companies in the indus-try. The existing literature about business cycles and business dynamics is scarce from busi-ness administrative perspective. This thesis contributes to fill the gap in the academic literature. The choice of the home video game industry has been done, due to its fast growing economic nature and the rapid changes that can be noticed, especially for the last decade. A qualitative research method with secondary qualitative and quantitative data and primary qualitative data through interviews has been used for this thesis. The home video game industry is highly driven by technological product innovations. Incremental innovations do not affect in a significant way the dynamics within the industry. Radical innovations create a competitive advantage through differentiation and they increase market share for the company which followed this strategy. Disruptive innovations open new markets, change the business environment for every firm and generate a shift in consumer preferences. Hence, the company which implements a disruptive innovation gains extensive market share. Innovations are possible due to the strategic orientation a company aims to pursue. If a company pursues a high market orientation and a low inno-vation orientation it manufactures an upgraded product to keep customers satisfied. When the firm pursues a high market and innovation orientation, the final product includes cha-racteristics that the customers desire. While at the same time the product created offers services and features hard to be matched by the competition. Finally, if a firm pursues a high innovation orientation and a low market orientation strategy, it creates an easier and more convenient alternative on the existing products while being cheaper. At the same time this strategic orientation disregards the established customers' desires.The purpose of this thesis is to present and analyze the innovations in the home video game industry and their impact on the competitive strategies of the companies in the indus-try. The existing literature about business cycles and business dynamics is scarce from busi-ness administrative perspective. This thesis contributes to fill the gap in the academic litera-ture. The choice of the home video game industry has been done, due to its fast growing economic nature and the rapid changes that can be noticed, especially for the last decade. A qualitative research method with secondary qualitative and quantitative data and primary qualitative data through interviews has been used for this thesis.The home video game industry is highly driven by technological product innovations. Incremental innovations do not affect in a significant way the dynamics within the industry. Radical innovations create a competitive advantage through differentiation and they increase market share for the company which followed this strategy. Disruptive innovations open new markets, change the business environment for every firm and generate a shift in consumer preferences. Hence, the company which implements a disruptive innovation gains extensive market share. Innovations are possible due to the strategic orientation a company aims to pursue. If a company pursues a high market orientation and a low inno-vation orientation it manufactures an upgraded product to keep customers satisfied. When the firm pursues a high market and innovation orientation, the final product includes cha-racteristics that the customers desire. While at the same time the product created offers services and features hard to be matched by the competition. Finally, if a firm pursues a high innovation orientation and a low market orientation strategy, it creates an easier and more convenient alternative on the existing products while being cheaper. At the same time this strategic orientation disregards the established customers' desires.

Virtual Reality (VR) video is emerging as a new art form. Viewing VR video requires wearing the VR headset to fully experience the immersive surrounding of the content. However, the novel viewing experience of VR video creates new challenges and requirements for conventional video authoring tools, which were designed mainly for working with normal video on a desktop display. Designing effective authoring tools for VR video requires intuitive video interfaces specific to VR. This dissertation develops new workflows and systems that enable filmmakers to create and improve VR video while fully immersed in a VR headset. We introduce a series of authoring tools that enables filmmakers to work with video in VR: 1) Vremiere, an in-headset video editing application that enables editors to edit VR video entirely in the headset, 2) CollaVR, a networked system that enables multiple users to collaborate and review video together in VR, and 3) a set of techniques to assist filmmakers in managing and accessing interfaces in stereoscopic VR video without suffering depth conflicts. The design of these applications is grounded in existing practices and principles learned in interviews with VR professionals. A series of studies is conducted to evaluate these systems, which demonstrate the potential of in-headset video authoring.

It was the purpose of this study to develop a set of criteria derived from curriculum theory to assist in the planning, use and evaluation of educational interactive videodisc. That set of criteria, referred to herein as the EIVD Curricular Base, consists of six sets of guidelines corresponding to Eisner's (1985) curriculum typologies: Development of Cognitive Processes, Curriculum as Technology, Curriculum for Personal Relevance, Curriculum for Social Adaptation, Curriculum for Social Reconstruction, and Academic Rationalism. The set of criteria was developed through the examination of three primary research questions: (1) What ways have those elements Beauchamp (1981) deemed necessary for any curriculum theory (definitions, values, design, engineering, and regeneration) been operationalized in Eisner's six curriculum typologies; (2) To what extent do interactive design characteristics identified by DeBloois (1979) apply to curriculum theory; (3) How can the ability of videodisc to simulate reality be integrated into the set of criteria? Further, the proposed set of criteria was critiqued against sample educational videodiscs to establish its veracity. The results of this study indicate that the Cognitive Processes curricular typology utilizes the potential of educational interactive videodisc to a greater extent than any other curricular typology in the EIVD Curricular Base. Therefore, it is recommended that an in-depth exploration of the Cognitive Process set of criteria be initiated. Ideally, the exploration would result in the research, design, production, use and evaluation of an actual videodisc program. Several, more general, recommendations regarding education's use of videodisc technology and courseware complete this study.

With the increase in bandwidth, more widespread distribution of media, and increased capability of mobile devices, multimedia streaming has not only become feasible, but more economical in terms of space occupied by the media file and the costs involved in attaining it. Although much attention has been paid to peer to peer media streaming over the Internet using HTTP and RTSP, little research has focussed on the use of the Bluetooth protocol for streaming audio and video between mobile devices. This project investigates the feasibility of Bluetooth as a protocol for audio and video streaming between mobile phones using the J2ME platform, through the analysis of Bluetooth protocols, media formats, optimum packet sizes, and the effects of distance on transfer speed. A comparison was made between RFCOMM and L2CAP to determine which protocol could support the fastest transfer speed between two mobile devices. The L2CAP protocol proved to be the most suitable, providing average transfer rates of 136.17 KBps. Using this protocol a second experiment was undertaken to determine the most suitable media format for streaming in terms of: file size, bandwidth usage, quality, and ease of implementation. Out of the eight media formats investigated, the MP3 format provided the smallest file size, smallest bandwidth usage, best quality and highest ease of implementation. Another experiment was conducted to determine the optimum packet size for transfer between devices. A tradeoff was found between packet size and the quality of the sound file, with highest transfer rates being recorded with the MTU size of 668 bytes (136.58 KBps). The class of Bluetooth transmitter typically used in mobile devices (class 2) is considered a weak signal and is adversely affected by distance. As such, the final investigation that was undertaken was aimed at determining the effects of distance on audio streaming and playback. As can be expected, when devices were situated close to each other, the transfer speeds obtained were higher than when devices were far apart. Readings were taken at varying distances (1-15 metres), with erratic transfer speeds observed from 7 metres onwards. This research showed that audio streaming on the J2ME platform is feasible, however using the currently available class of Bluetooth transmitter, video streaming is not feasible. Video files were only playable once the entire media file had been transferred.

There has been a significant rise in the provision of television and video services over IP (IPTV) in recent years. Increasing network capacity and falling bandwidth costs have made it both technically and economically feasible for service providers to deliver IPTV services. Several telecommunications (telco) operators worldwide are rolling out IPTV solutions and view IPTV as a major service differentiator and alternative revenue source. The main challenge that IPTV providers currently face, however, is the increasingly congested television service provider market, which also includes Internet Television. IPTV solutions therefore need strong service differentiators to succeed. IPTV solutions can doubtlessly sell much faster if they are more affordable or low-cost. Advertising has already been used in many service sectors to help lower service costs, including traditional broadcast television. This thesis therefore explores the role that advertising can play in helping to lower the cost of IPTV services and to incentivise IPTV billing. Another approach that IPTV providers can use to help sell their product is by addressing the growing need for control by today's multimedia users. This thesis will therefore explore the varied approaches that can be used to achieve viewer focused IPTV implementations. To further lower the cost of IPTV services, telcos can also turn to low-cost, open source platforms for service delivery. The adoption of low-cost infrastructure by telcos can lead to reduced Capital Expenditure (CAPEX), which in turn can lead to lower service fees, and ultimately to higher subscriptions and revenue. Therefore, in this thesis, the author proposes a CustOmisable, INcentive (COIN) driven Video on Demand (VoD) framework to be developed and deployed using the Mobicents Communication Platform, an open source service creation and execution platform. The COIN framework aims to provide a viewer focused, economically competitive service that combines the potential cost savings of using free and open source software (FOSS), with an innovative, incentive-driven billing approach. This project will also aim to evaluate whether the Mobicents Platform is a suitable service creation and execution platform for the proposed framework. Additionally, the proposed implementation aims to be interoperable with other IPTV implementations, hence shall follow current IPTV standardisation architectures and trends. The service testbed and its implementation are described in detail and only free and open source software is used; this is to enable its easy duplication and extension for future research.
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Through this research, engineering students and conservation biologists constructed an off-grid video system for observing western burrowing owls in El Paso, Texas. The burrowing owl has a declining population and their range decreasing, driving scientists' interest to see inside the den for observing critical nesting behavior. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) biologists wanted videos from inside the dark, isolated hillside owl burrows. This research yielded a replicable multi-camera prototype, empowering others to explore applications of engineering and wildlife monitoring. The remote station used an off-the-shelf video recording system, solar panels, charge controller, and lead acid batteries. Four local K-12 science educators participated in system testing at Lake Ray Roberts State Park through the Research Experiences for Teachers (RET, NSF #1132585) program, as well as four undergraduate engineering students as senior design research.

Orientador: Fernão Vitor Pessoa de Almeida Ramos
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Artes
Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-23T21:00:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Neves_BrauliodeBritto_D.pdf: 3338859 bytes, checksum: 9f7b6335eb8a7b3fd674c22b05e8d7d4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011
Resumo: Esta tese propõe novos critérios para a definição de cinema documentário, tomando-o como uma classe natural da retórica da esfera publica contemporânea, a partir da extrapolação dos traços recorrentes do documentário político feito a partir, através e para a circulação na internet, na primeira década do século 21. A constatação de que o ciberdocumentário ativista recente logrou transformar o esforço de constituição de espaços de visibilidade publica autônomos em uma matéria de expressão poética peculiar conduziu a concepção de que o traço distintivo do documentário, em geral, reside no tipo especifico de relação que ele pretende constituir entre seus participantes: enunciadores, enunciatários e atores sociais. Reinterpreta-se retórico-especulativamente os conceitos da "pragmática universal" para tornar os conceitos de "interpretabilidade" e "validez" operadores analíticos apropriados para o exame da retórica dos ciberdocumentários. A peculiaridade mais decisiva desses vídeos e sua função instauradora de contrapúblicos, através da operação de plataformas telemáticas de publicação abertas. Essa inovação, trazida para a esfera publica pelo ciberativismo dos movimentos antiglobalização corporativa, e estruturada como uma política prefigurativa. Os ciberdocumentários publicados nessas plataformas são tambem prefigurativos porque visam provocar efeitos catalisadores, comemorativos e regenerativos sobre seus apreciadores, propiciando a transposição das relações de participação na enunciação para as relações nos contrapúblicos e na esfera publica ampla. A inovação da producao de conteúdo pelos públicos usuários, porém, e capturada por corporações da telemática, nas "redes sociais" e sites de "compartilhamento de vídeos", como estratégia para extrair trabalho não pago da privacidade coletiva dos usuários. Através de analises da estrutura das plataformas de publicação, de alguns ciberdocumentários e de entrevistas com seus organizadores, a tese examina dois projetos ciberativistas prefigurativos: o CMI-Brasil e o Circuitos Compartilhados. Examina-se como o propósito de constituição de contrapúblicos ativistas prefigurativos determina os demais elementos da retórica dos ciberdocumentários (situações de tomada, montagem, paratextualização nas plataformas, organização de exibições). Nos vídeos do Centro de Mídia Independente, temos uma retórica próxima do documentário direto contra-informação política, na qual o espaço urbano e audiovisual mente reconstruído de maneira agônica. A intensa imersividade dos vídeos ceemistas serve para de estabelecer uma relação de revezabilidade entre os participantes das enunciações ciberdocumentárias prefigurativas. Em Circuitos, ha proximidade com a retórica do documentário poeticoexperimental. Nessa plataforma, que tambem e uma coleção de vídeos compartilhada pelos participantes do projeto, a constituição de contrapúblicos e manifestamente explorada como práxis poética
Abstract: In the present thesis are proposed new criteria for the documentary cinema definition, as a natural class of the contemporary public sphere rhetoric, stemming from the extrapolation of the recurring features of the political documentary built upon, through and to the Internet diffusion, made in the first decade of the 21th century. The observation that the recent activist cyberdocumentary succeeded in convert the public visibility spaces' building efforts in a peculiar poetic matter of expression brought the conception that the distinctive characteristic of the documentary rhetoric lies in the specific kind of relationship it pretends to constitute between their parts - ennunciators, ennunciatees and social actors. The concepts of the "Universal Pragmatics" are undertaken in a speculative-rhetoric key, to make them suitable to the prefigurative cyberdocumentaries rhetoric scrutiny. The crucial particular feature of this videos is their role in the counterpublics institution, through the operation of open publishing on-line platforms. This innovation, brought about in the public sphere by the anti-corporate globalization movements cyberactivism, is neatly structured as a prefigurative policy. The cyberdocumentaries published in these platforms are also prefigurative because they aim to produce cathalist, commemorative and regenerative effects on their appreciators, underpinning the transposition from the relationships between the parts in the enunciation to the relationships into the counterpublics and in the public sphere at large. The innovation of the user publics content production has however been captured by the internet corporations, in the "social networks" and "video sharing" sites, as a strategy to extract unpaid work from the collective privacy of the users. Through the analysis of the publishing platforms structures, of cyberdocumentaries and of interviews, this thesis presents the main features of two prefigurative cyberactivist projects: The Brazilian Indymedia chapter (CMI-Brasil) and the "Shared Circuits" (Circuitos Compartilhados). The scrutiny focus is directed to the understanding of how the activist counterpublics building purpose determines the other layers of the ciberdocumentary rhetoric (the image take situations, the montage, the paratextual composition of the platforms, the organization of exhibitions). In the Brazilian IMC videos, we see a rethoric near to the counter-information direct documentary, where the urban space is audiovisually reconstructed in an agonic manner. The intense immersivity of IMC's videos is precursory to a relaying relationship between the documentary ennounciation participants. In Circuits, a more closeness to the poetic-experimental documentary rhetoric is seen. In that platform, which is also a video collection shared by the project participants, the counterpublic building is conspicuously explored as a poetic praxis
Doutorado
Multimeios
Doutor em Multimeios

In 2016, over 11 million people misused prescription opioids and the economic costs were estimated to be over $500 billion. In the same year, opioids killed 42,000 people, which was more than any year on record. These data highlight the need to reduce the harm caused to individuals, families, communities, and the nation. One element of a more comprehensive national strategy is increasing awareness among citizens, physicians and policy makers. Given its widespread reach YouTube can be very helpful. There is a large literature on the opiate epidemic, but no published studies describing the sources or content of YouTube videos on the opiate epidemic were identified. This study was, therefore, intended to help fill this gap in current knowledge. YouTube was searched using two key terms, “opiate addiction” and “opioids.” The results were sorted by number of views, and the URL, title, and number of views were saved for videos with a minimum of 1,500 views. Videos were then screened for the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The remaining sample comprised 309 videos. Collectively, these 309 videos were viewed 44,693,887 times. The results revealed the sources that were most viewed and the nature of content that was and was not likely to be covered. The two main sources of videos were Internet Based and Television news/Entertainment. Compared with videos with health professions as the main speaker, those featuring consumers garnered almost 10 times as many cumulative views (30.35%versus 3.24%). Government organizations uploaded 11 videos (< 4%), collectively garnering 343,983 views (less than 1% of cumulative views). YouTube represents an important opportunity for health promotion and disease prevention regarding the opiate epidemic. However, improved understanding about ways to communicate accurate and useful information in ways that attract viewers is needed. Recommendations for research, policy and practice are presented relevant to how YouTube can help mitigate the harm caused by the opiate epidemic.

by Mary Y.Y. Leung.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1997.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-66).
Abstract --- p.i
Acknowledgments --- p.iii
Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1
Chapter 1.1 --- Video-On-Demand Environment --- p.1
Chapter 1.2 --- Problem Definition --- p.3
Chapter 2 --- Related Work --- p.7
Chapter 2.1 --- Data Sharing Techniques --- p.7
Chapter 2.1.1 --- Batching --- p.7
Chapter 2.1.2 --- Buffering --- p.9
Chapter 2.1.3 --- Static Partitioning --- p.10
Chapter 2.1.4 --- Adaptive Piggybacking --- p.10
Chapter 2.2 --- Providing VCR Functionalities --- p.12
Chapter 3 --- System Model --- p.15
Chapter 3.1 --- Operations involved in VCR Control --- p.15
Chapter 3.2 --- Normal Playback Model --- p.17
Chapter 3.3 --- VCR Model --- p.18
Chapter 4 --- Resource Allocation for Normal Playback --- p.21
Chapter 4.1 --- Mathematical Model --- p.22
Chapter 4.1.1 --- Hits occurring within the same partition (hit w) --- p.24
Chapter 4.1.2 --- Jump to other partitions (hito) --- p.27
Chapter 4.1.3 --- Fast-forwarding to the end of a movie --- p.30
Chapter 4.1.4 --- The expected hit probability P(hit) --- p.31
Chapter 4.2 --- Model Verification --- p.32
Chapter 5 --- Resource Allocation for VCR mode --- p.35
Chapter 5.1 --- Scheme 1: No merging --- p.36
Chapter 5.2 --- Scheme 2: Merging by adaptive piggybacking and buffering --- p.36
Chapter 5.2.1 --- Resuming within the threshold (Δ ≤ k) --- p.38
Chapter 5.2.2 --- Resuming beyond the threshold (Δ > k) --- p.39
Chapter 5.3 --- Verification --- p.42
Chapter 6 --- Applications to System sizing --- p.45
Chapter 6.1 --- Cost of Resources for Normal Playback --- p.46
Chapter 6.2 --- Cost of Resources for VCR functions --- p.48
Chapter 6.3 --- Overall system cost --- p.49
Chapter 6.4 --- Comparison --- p.50
Chapter 6.4.1 --- Scheme 1 vs. Scheme 2 --- p.51
Chapter 6.4.2 --- Scheme 2 vs. pure I/O & pure buffer --- p.54
Chapter 6.4.3 --- Different values of k --- p.58
Chapter 6.4.4 --- Different values of ψ --- p.60
Chapter 7 --- Conclusions --- p.62
Bibliography --- p.64
Chapter A --- Appendix --- p.67
Chapter A.l --- Rewind --- p.67
Chapter A.1.1 --- Hits occurring within the same partition (hit w) --- p.67
Chapter A.1.2 --- Jump to other partitions (hit0) --- p.68
Chapter A.2 --- Pause --- p.70

Thesis (M.M. (Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation)), University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits Business School, 2016.
Over the past few years the South African market has seen the launch of a number of online video services providers. The leading providers in the industry are Vidi, ON-Tap, MTN front row and ShowMax. The industry has also attracted some international competition with big players like Netflix launching its services in the South African market in January 2016. Although this industry has seen the emergence of many new players, it is still in its infacy stages in South Africa and is still to be seen if it will mature into a long term profit making industry. It is important to research the diffusion of innovation and more specially to look at how technopreneurs that are in this field or considering entering this industry can influence the speed and success of how this new innovation is diffused. This research will focus on two areas. Firstly, it will seek to look at the factors that influence the potential adopter’s propensity to adopt a new product. Secondly the research will look at the role played by the technopreneur in ensuring that online video services are adopted successfully. Since the online video services industry is not yet mature the research was conducted using the mixed method approach. The quantitative research was conducted by distributing online survey questionnaires. These questionnaires were distributed using email, as well as social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. The qualitative research was conducted by performing interviews with a predetermined list of respondents. The combination of the two types of research led to a better understanding of this topic. The results the research highlighted the fact that the South African market poses very unique challenges for entrepreneurs that want to enter this industry. South African technopreneurs have an advantage against international players like Netflix because they understand challenges of internet access, payment issues as well as preferred content.
XL2018

Game-based learning, or the process of adapting an educational concept into a game-based structure, has been studied by researchers for nearly a century. Over the last several decades, new technologies have allowed digital media to create a multibillion- dollar entertainment industry commonly known as video games. Video games have become a tool for many educators who have the potential to engage and motivate students to learn in various subjects and disciplines. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of digital game-based learning in comparison to other teaching methods as related to music education and to explore the perspectives of young students regarding video games both in school and in their personal lives. Ninety-two (n = 92) fifth and sixth grade students in a northeastern U.S. elementary school completed a mixed-method experimental study consisting of a pretest/posttest control group, surveys, and in-depth interviews. Results showed that students who had access to educational video games combined with the assistance of an instructor achieved higher mean scores compared with students who had access to either video games without instruction or instruction without video games. Survey and interview data suggested that students enjoyed playing video games on a regular basis for reasons such as enjoyment, socialization, and distraction. The majority of respondents believed that video games can and should be used in educational practices, including music education, but current educational games are inadequate because they do not possess the qualities of entertainment that are inherent in commercially designed games. These findings suggested that educational video games may be potentially used as an effective tool in the music classroom to teach musical concepts and skills. In addition, benefits may also include increased student motivation, engagement, and a hands-on approach to learning that is based on the students’ individual needs. However, it may be necessary for video games to be used in combination with a qualified teacher to prevent confusion, distraction, and possible frustration. Pairing quality instruction with engaging technology that is relevant in children’s lives may be highly beneficial for the continued development of music education.

There is a need to increase awareness among African American men regarding their potential risk of prostate cancer and inform them of screening and treatment options, given the health disparities that affect their group. To do so, an innovative e health video was developed, using an animated avatar video to educate African American males about prostate cancer and potential screening methods in a way that is culturally appropriate. Effectiveness of this e-health intervention was tested on a sample of 41 African American males. Efficacy was measured using a repeated measures design that used pre- and post-measures of four target behaviors regarding prostate cancer screening. These four target behaviors include: (1) getting an annual physical exam, (2) discussing the possibility of getting a digital rectal exam to screen for prostate cancer with a doctor, (3) discussing the possibility of getting a PSA exam to screen for prostate cancer with a doctor, and (4) spreading awareness about prostate cancer among other African American men. The stage of change, which is a theoretical framework adapted from Prochaska and DiClemente (1983), measures changes in human behavior from precontemplation and contemplation on the low end to action and maintenance on the high end. Self-efficacy was also measured before and after the intervention for each of the four target behaviors. Paired t-tests show that the stage of change for the third and fourth target behaviors and self-efficacy for the second, third, and fourth target behaviors were significantly increased by the e-health intervention, indicating that the intervention was successful. Additionally, participant ratings about the intervention were largely positive. In effect, this study finds that the e-health intervention developed in this study not only works, but is an affordable, scalable, and practical tool that can educate African American males about prostate cancer screening practices.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
HEVC has achieved significant coding efficiency improvement beyond existing video coding standard by employing many new coding tools. Deblocking Filter, Sample Adaptive Offset and Adaptive Loop Filter for in-loop filtering are currently introduced for the HEVC standardization. However these filters are implemented in spatial domain despite the fact of temporal correlation within video sequences. To reduce the artifacts and better align object boundaries in video , a new algorithm in in-loop filtering is proposed. The proposed algorithm is implemented in HM-11.0 software. This proposed algorithm allows an average bitrate reduction of about 0.7% and improves the PSNR of the decoded frame by 0.05%, 0.30% and 0.35% in luminance and chroma.