Search results for: Metric dimension
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1308

Search results for: Metric dimension

1008 A New Categorization of Image Quality Metrics Based on a Model of Human Quality Perception

Authors: Maria Grazia Albanesi, Riccardo Amadeo

Abstract:

This study presents a new model of the human image quality assessment process: the aim is to highlight the foundations of the image quality metrics proposed in literature, by identifying the cognitive/physiological or mathematical principles of their development and the relation with the actual human quality assessment process. The model allows to create a novel categorization of objective and subjective image quality metrics. Our work includes an overview of the most used or effective objective metrics in literature, and, for each of them, we underline its main characteristics, with reference to the rationale of the proposed model and categorization. From the results of this operation, we underline a problem that affects all the presented metrics: the fact that many aspects of human biases are not taken in account at all. We then propose a possible methodology to address this issue.

Keywords: eye-tracking, image quality assessment metric, MOS, quality of user experience, visual perception

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1007 Software Quality Measurement System for Telecommunication Industry in Malaysia

Authors: Nor Fazlina Iryani Abdul Hamid, Mohamad Khatim Hasan

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Evolution of software quality measurement has been started since McCall introduced his quality model in year 1977. Starting from there, several software quality models and software quality measurement methods had emerged but none of them focused on telecommunication industry. In this paper, the implementation of software quality measurement system for telecommunication industry was compulsory to accommodate the rapid growth of telecommunication industry. The quality value of the telecommunication related software could be calculated using this system by entering the required parameters. The system would calculate the quality value of the measured system based on predefined quality metrics and aggregated by referring to the quality model. It would classify the quality level of the software based on Net Satisfaction Index (NSI). Thus, software quality measurement system was important to both developers and users in order to produce high quality software product for telecommunication industry.

Keywords: software quality, quality measurement, quality model, quality metric, net satisfaction index

Procedia PDF Downloads 556
1006 A Preliminary Study on the Effects of Equestrian and Basketball Exercises in Children with Autism

Authors: Li Shuping, Shu Huaping, Yi Chaofan, Tao Jiang

Abstract:

Equestrian practice is often considered having a unique effect on improving symptoms in children with autism. This study evaluated and measured the changes in daily behavior, morphological, physical function, and fitness indexes of two group children with autism by means of 12 weeks of equestrian and basketball exercises. 19 clinically diagnosed children with moderate/mild autism were randomly divided into equestrian group (9 children, age=10.11±1.90y) and basketball group (10 children, age=10.70±2.16y). Both the equestrian and basketball groups practiced twice a week for 45 to 60 minutes each time. Three scales, the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and the Clancy Autism Behavior Scale (CABS) were used to assess their human behavior and psychology. Four morphological, seven physical function and fitness indicators were measured to evaluate the effects of the two exercises on the children’s body. The evaluations were taken by every four weeks ( pre-exercise, the 4th week, the 8th week and 12th week (post exercise). The result showed that the total scores of ABC, CARS and CABS, the dimension scores of ABC on the somatic motor, language and life self-care obtained after exercise were significantly lower than those obtained before 12 week exercises in both groups. The ABC feeling dimension scores of equestrian group and ABC communication dimension score of basketball group were significantly lower,and The upper arm circumference, sitting forward flexion, 40 second sit-up, 15s lateral jump, vital capacity, and single foot standing of both groups were significantly higher than that of before exercise.. The BMI of equestrian group was significantly reduced. The handgrip strength of basketball group was significantly increased. In conclusion, both types of exercises could improve daily behavior, morphological, physical function, and fitness indexes of the children with autism. However, the behavioral psychological scores, body morphology and function indicators and time points were different in the middle and back of the two interventions.But the indicators and the timing of the improvement were different. To the group of equestrian, the improvement of the flexibility occurred at week 4, the improvement of the sensory perception, control and use their own body, and promote the development of core strength endurance, coordination and cardiopulmonary function occurred at week 8,and the improvement of core strength endurance, coordination and cardiopulmonary function occurred at week 12. To the group of basketball, the improvement of the hand strength, balance, flexibility and cardiopulmonary function occurred at week 4, the improvement of the self-care ability and language expression ability, and core strength endurance and coordination occurred at week 8, the improvement of the control and use of their own body and social interaction ability occurred at week 12. In comparison of the exercise effects, the equestrian exercise improved the physical control and application ability appeared earlier than that of basketball group. Basketball exercise improved the language expression ability, self-care ability, balance ability and cardiopulmonary function of autistic children appeared earlier than that of equestrian group.

Keywords: intervention, children with autism, equestrain, basketball

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1005 Designing a Crowbar for Women: An Ergonomic Approach

Authors: Prakash Chandra Dhara, Rupa Maity, Mousumi Chatterjee

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Crowbars are used for the gardening purpose. The same tools are used by both male and female gardeners. The existing crowbars are suitable for the female gardeners. The present study was aimed to design a crowbar, which was required to use by the women for the gardening purpose, from the viewpoints of ergonomics. The study was carried out on 50 women in different villages of Howrah districts in West Bengal state. Different models of existing crowbars which were commonly used by the women were collected and evaluated by examining their shape and size. The problems of using existing crowbar were assessed by direct observation during its operation. The musculoskeletal disorder of the subjects for using the crowbar was evaluated by modified Nordic questionnaire method. The anthropometric dimensions, especially hand dimension, of the subjects were taken in standardized static conditions. Considering the problems of using the existing crowbars some design concepts were developed and accordingly three prototypes models (P1, P2, P3) of crowbar were prepared for designing of a modified crowbar for women. Psychophysical analysis of those prototypes was made by paired comparison tests. In the above test subjective preference for different characteristics of the crowbar, e.g., length, weight, length and breadth of the blade, handle diameter, position of the handle, were determined. From the results of the paired comparison test and percentile values of hand dimensions, a modified design of crowbar was suggested. The prototype model P1 possessed more preferred characteristics of the tool than that of other prototype models. In the final design, the weight of the tool and length of the blade was reduced from that of the existing crowbar. Other dimensions were also changed. Two handles were suggested in the redesigned tool for better gripping and operation. The modified crowbar was evaluated by studying the body joint angles, viz., wrist, shoulder and elbow, for assessing the suitability of the design. It was concluded that the redesigned crowbar was suitable for women’s use.

Keywords: body dimension, crowbar, ergo-design, women, hand anthropometry

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1004 Responsibility to Protect in Practice: Libya and Syria

Authors: Guram Esakia, Giorgi Goguadze

Abstract:

The following paper is written due to overview the concept of R2P, this new dimension in International Relations field. Paper contains the general description of previously mentioned concept, its advantages and disadvantages. We also compare each other R2P and“humanitarian intervention“, trying to make clear division between these two approaches in conflict solution. There is also discussed R2P in real action, successful one in Libya and yet failed in Syria. Essay doesn’t claim to be the part of scientific chain and is based only on personal subjection as well on information gathered from various scholars and UN resolutions.

Keywords: the concept of R2P, humanitarian intervention, Libya, Syria

Procedia PDF Downloads 255
1003 Problem Gambling in the Conceptualization of Health Professionals: A Qualitative Analysis of the Discourses Produced by Psychologists, Psychiatrists and General Practitioners

Authors: T. Marinaci, C. Venuleo

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Different conceptualizations of disease affect patient care. This study aims to address this gap. It explores how health professionals conceptualize gambling problem, addiction and the goals of recovery process. In-depth, semi-structured, open-ended interviews were conducted with Italian psychologists, psychiatrists, general practitioners, and support staff (N= 114), working within health centres for the treatment of addiction (public health services or therapeutic communities) or medical offices. A Lexical Correspondence Analysis (LCA) was applied to the verbatim transcripts. LCA allowed to identify two main factorial dimensions, which organize similarity and dissimilarity in the discourses of the interviewed. The first dimension labelled 'Models of relationship with the problem', concerns two different models of relationship with the health problem: one related to the request for help and the process of taking charge and the other related to the identification of the psychopathology underlying the disorder. The second dimension, labelled 'Organisers of the intervention' reflects the dialectic between two ways to address the problem. On the one hand, they are the gambling dynamics and its immediate life-consequences to organize the intervention (whatever the request of the user is); on the other hand, they are the procedures and the tools which characterize the health service to organize the way the professionals deal with the user’ s problem (whatever it is and despite the specify of the user’s request). The results highlight how, despite the differences, the respondents share a central assumption: understanding gambling problem implies the reference to the gambler’s identity, more than, for instance, to the relational, social, cultural or political context where the gambler lives. A passive stance is attributed to the user, who does not play any role in the definition of the goal of the intervention. The results will be discussed to highlight the relationship between professional models and users’ ways to understand and deal with the problems related to gambling.

Keywords: cultural models, health professionals, intervention models, problem gambling

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1002 Optimum Design of Heat Exchanger in Diesel Engine Cold EGR for Pollutants Reduction

Authors: Nasser Ghassembaglou, Armin Rahmatfam, Faramarz Ranjbar

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Using of cold EGR method with variable venturi and turbocharger has a very significant affection on the reduction of NOX and grime simultaneously. EGR cooler is one of the most important parts in the cold EGR circuit. In this paper optimum design of cooler for working in different percents of EGR and for determining of optimum temperature of exhausted gases, growth of efficiency, reduction of weight, reduction of dimension and expenditures, and reduction of sediment and optimum performance by using gas oil which has significant amounts of brimstone are investigated and optimized.

Keywords: cold EGR, NOX, cooler, gas oil

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1001 Classification of Cosmological Wormhole Solutions in the Framework of General Relativity

Authors: Usamah Al-Ali

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We explore the effect of expanding space on the exoticity of the matter supporting a traversable Lorentzian wormhole of zero radial tide whose line element is given by ds2 = dt^2 − a^2(t)[ dr^2/(1 − kr2 −b(r)/r)+ r2dΩ^2 in the context of General Relativity. This task is achieved by deriving the Einstein field equations for anisotropic matter field corresponding to the considered cosmological wormhole metric and performing a classification of their solutions on the basis of a variable equations of state (EoS) of the form p = ω(r)ρ. Explicit forms of the shape function b(r) and the scale factor a(t) arising in the classification are utilized to construct the corresponding energy-momentum tensor where the energy conditions for each case is investigated. While the violation of energy conditions is inevitable in case of static wormholes, the classification we performed leads to interesting solutions in which this violation is either reduced or eliminated.

Keywords: general relativity, Einstein field equations, energy conditions, cosmological wormhole

Procedia PDF Downloads 42
1000 Dwelling in the Built Environment: The Resilience by Design in Modular Thinking toward an Adaptive Alternatives

Authors: Tzen-Ying Ling

Abstract:

Recently, the resilience of dwellings in urban areas has been deliberated, as to accommodate the growing demand for changing the demography and rapid urbanization. The need to incorporate sustainability and cleaner production thinking have intensified to mitigate climate risks and satisfy the demand for housing. The modular thinking satisfies both the pressing call for fast-tracked housing stocks; while meeting the goal of more sustainable production. In the other side, the importance of the dwelling as a podium for well-being and social connectedness are sought to explore the key human/environment design thinking for the modular system in dwelling. We argue the best practice incorporates the concept of systemic components thinking. The fieldwork reported in this paper illustrates the process of the case study in a modular dwelling unit prototype development; focusing on the systemic frame system design process and adjustment recommendation hereafter. Using a case study method, the study identified that: (1) inclusive human dimensional factoring through systemic design thinking results in affordable implementations possibilities. (2) The environmental dimension encourages the place-based solution suited for the locality and the increasing demand for dwelling in the urban system. (3) Prototype design consideration avails module system component as dwelling construction alternative. (4) Building code often acts as an inhibitor for such dwelling units by the restriction in lot sizes and units placement. The demand for fast-track dwelling construction and cleaner production decisively outweighs the code inhibition; we further underscored the sustainability implication of the alternative prototype as the core of this study. The research suggests that modular thinking results in a resilient solution suited for the locality and the increasing demand for dwelling in the urban system.

Keywords: system prototype, urban resilience, human/environment dimension, modular thinking, dwelling alternative

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999 Impact of Blended Learning in Interior Architecture Programs in Academia: A Case Study of Arcora Garage Academy from Turkey

Authors: Arzu Firlarer, Duygu Gocmen, Gokhan Uysal

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There is currently a growing trend among universities towards blended learning. Blended learning is becoming increasingly important in higher education, with the aims of better accomplishing course learning objectives, meeting students’ changing needs and promoting effective learning both in a theoretical and practical dimension like interior architecture discipline. However, the practical dimension of the discipline cannot be supported in the university environment. During the undergraduate program, the practical training which is tried to be supported by two different internship programs cannot fully meet the requirements of the blended learning. The lack of education program frequently expressed by our graduates and employers is revealed in the practical knowledge and skills dimension of the profession. After a series of meetings for curriculum studies, interviews with the chambers of profession, meetings with interior architects, a gap between the theoretical and practical training modules is seen as a problem in all interior architecture departments. It is thought that this gap can be solved by a new education model which is formed by the cooperation of University-Industry in the concept of blended learning. In this context, it is considered that theoretical and applied knowledge accumulation can be provided by the creation of industry-supported educational environments at the university. In the application process of the Interior Architecture discipline, the use of materials and technical competence will only be possible with the cooperation of industry and participation of students in the production/manufacture processes as observers and practitioners. Wood manufacturing is an important part of interior architecture applications. Wood productions is a sustainable structural process where production details, material knowledge, and process details can be observed in the most effective way. From this point of view, after theoretical training about wooden materials, wood applications and production processes are given to the students, practical training for production/manufacture planning is supported by active participation and observation in the processes. With this blended model, we aimed to develop a training model in which theoretical and practical knowledge related to the production of wood works will be conveyed in a meaningful, lasting way by means of university-industry cooperation. The project is carried out in Ankara with Arcora Architecture and Furniture Company and Başkent University Department of Interior Design where university-industry cooperation is realized. Within the scope of the project, every week the video of that week’s lecture is recorded and prepared to be disseminated by digital medias such as Udemy. In this sense, the program is not only developed by the project participants, but also other institutions and people who are trained and practiced in the field of design. Both academicians from University and at least 15-year experienced craftsmen in the wood metal and dye sectors are preparing new training reference documents for interior architecture undergraduate programs. These reference documents will be a model for other Interior Architecture departments of the universities and will be used for creating an online education module.

Keywords: blended learning, interior design, sustainable training, effective learning.

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998 Effects of Physical Activity Used as Treatment in Community Mental Health Services

Authors: John Olav Bjornestad, Bjorn Tore Johansen

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The number of people suffering from mental illnesses is increasing, and such illness is currently one of the major causes of disability and poor health. The reason for this is most likely a lack of physical activity. The purpose of this study was to discover if physical activity was an effective mode of treatment for psychiatric patients at an out-patient treatment facility. The study included an exploration of whether or not patients having physical activity included as an integral part of their treatment (to a greater degree than do patients who are physically inactive) would achieve 1) an improvement in their physical condition 2) a reduction in symptomatic pressure and 3) an increase in their health-related quality of life. The intervention period lasted a total of 12 weeks. The training group completed a minimum of 2 training sessions per week with an intensity of 60-75% of maximum heart rate. The participants’ health-related quality of life (SF-36), symptomatic pressure (SCL-90-R) and physical condition (UKK-walking test) were measured before and after intervention. Twenty participants were pre-tested, and out of this initial group, nine patients completed the intervention program and participated thereafter in post-testing. The results showed that participants on average improved their physical condition, reduced their symptomatic pressure and increased their health-related quality of life over the course of the intervention period. The training group experienced significant changes in their symptomatic pressure (the anxiety dimension) and health-related quality of life (the mental health dimension) from the pre-testing stage to the post-testing one. Furthermore, there was a significant connection between symptomatic pressure and health-related quality of life. The patients who were admitted to the psychiatric out-patient clinic were in a physical condition that was significantly poorer than that of persons of the same age in the remainder of the population. Experiences from the study and the relatively large defection from it demonstrate that there is a great need for close follow-up of psychiatric patients’ physical activity levels when physical activity and lifestyle changes are included as part of their treatment program.

Keywords: health-related quality, mental health, physical activity, physical condition

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997 Grade and Maximum Tumor Dimension as Determinants of Lymphadenectomy in Patients with Endometrioid Endometrial Cancer (EEC)

Authors: Ali A. Bazzi, Ameer Hamza, Riley O’Hara, Kimberly Kado, Karen H. Hagglund, Lamia Fathallah, Robert T. Morris

Abstract:

Introduction: Endometrial Cancer is a common gynecologic malignancy primarily treated with complete surgical staging, which may include complete pelvic and para-aortic lymphadenectomy. The role of lymphadenectomy is controversial, especially the intraoperative indications for the procedure. Three factors are important in decision to proceed with lymphadenectomy: Myometrial invasion, maximum tumor dimension, and histology. Many institutions incorporate these criteria in varying degrees in the decision to proceed with lymphadenectomy. This investigation assesses the use of intraoperatively measured MTD with and without pre-operative histologic grade. Methods: This study compared retrospectively EEC patients with intraoperatively measured MTD ≤2 cm to those with MTD >2 cm from January 1, 2002 to August 31, 2017. This assessment compared those with MTD ≤ 2cm with endometrial biopsy (EB) grade 1-2 to patients with MTD > 2cm with EB grade 3. Lymph node metastasis (LNM), recurrence, and survival were compared in these groups. Results: This study reviewed 222 patient cases. In tumors > 2 cm, LNM occurred in 20% cases while in tumors ≤ 2 cm, LNM was found in 6% cases (p=0.04). Recurrence and mean survival based on last follow up visit in these two groups were not statistically different (p=0.78 and 0.36 respectively). Data demonstrated a trend that when combined with preoperative EB International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) grade, a higher proportion of patients with EB FIGO Grade 3 and MTD > 2 cm had LNM compared to those with EB FIGO Grade 1-2 and MTD ≤ 2 cm (43% vs, 11%, p=0.06). LNM was found in 15% of cases in which lymphadenectomy was performed based on current practices, whereas if the criteria of EB FIGO 3 and MTD > 2 cm were used the incidence of LNM would have been 44% cases. However, using this criterion, two patients would not have had their nodal metastases detected. Compared to the current practice, the sensitivity and specificity of the proposed criteria would be 60% and 81%, respectively. The PPV and NPV would be 43% and 90%, respectively. Conclusion: The results indicate that MTD combined with EB FIGO grade can detect LNM in a higher proportion of cases when compared to current practice. MTD combined with EB FIGO grade may eliminate the need of frozen section sampling in a substantial number of cases.

Keywords: endometrial cancer, FIGO grade, lymphadenectomy, tumor size

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996 Graphical Modeling of High Dimension Processes with an Environmental Application

Authors: Ali S. Gargoum

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Graphical modeling plays an important role in providing efficient probability calculations in high dimensional problems (computational efficiency). In this paper, we address one of such problems where we discuss fragmenting puff models and some distributional assumptions concerning models for the instantaneous, emission readings and for the fragmenting process. A graphical representation in terms of a junction tree of the conditional probability breakdown of puffs and puff fragments is proposed.

Keywords: graphical models, influence diagrams, junction trees, Bayesian nets

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995 Study of the Relationship between the Civil Engineering Parameters and the Floating of Buoy Model Which Made from Expanded Polystyrene-Mortar

Authors: Panarat Saengpanya

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There were five objectives in this study including the study of housing type with water environment, the physical and mechanical properties of the buoy material, the mechanical properties of the buoy models, the floating of the buoy models and the relationship between the civil engineering parameters and the floating of the buoy. The buoy examples made from Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) covered by 5 mm thickness of mortar with the equal thickness on each side. Specimens are 0.05 m cubes tested at a displacement rate of 0.005 m/min. The existing test method used to assess the parameters relationship is ASTM C 109 to provide comparative results. The results found that the three type of housing with water environment were Stilt Houses, Boat House, and Floating House. EPS is a lightweight material that has been used in engineering applications since at least the 1950s. Its density is about a hundredth of that of mortar, while the mortar strength was found 72 times of EPS. One of the advantage of composite is that two or more materials could be combined to take advantage of the good characteristics of each of the material. The strength of the buoy influenced by mortar while the floating influenced by EPS. Results showed the buoy example compressed under loading. The Stress-Strain curve showed the high secant modulus before reached the peak value. The failure occurred within 10% strain then the strength reduces while the strain was continuing. It was observed that the failure strength reduced by increasing the total volume of examples. For the buoy examples with same area, an increase of the failure strength is found when the high dimension is increased. The results showed the relationship between five parameters including the floating level, the bearing capacity, the volume, the high dimension and the unit weight. The study found increases in high of buoy lead to corresponding decreases in both modulus and compressive strength. The total volume and the unit weight had relationship with the bearing capacity of the buoy.

Keywords: floating house, buoy, floating structure, EPS

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994 Propagation of Cos-Gaussian Beam in Photorefractive Crystal

Authors: A. Keshavarz

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A physical model for guiding the wave in photorefractive media is studied. Propagation of cos-Gaussian beam as the special cases of sinusoidal-Gaussian beams in photorefractive crystal is simulated numerically by the Crank-Nicolson method in one dimension. Results show that the beam profile deforms as the energy transfers from the center to the tails under propagation. This simulation approach is of significant interest for application in optical telecommunication. The results are presented graphically and discussed.

Keywords: beam propagation, cos-Gaussian beam, numerical simulation, photorefractive crystal

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993 The Comparative Electroencephalogram Study: Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Healthy Children Evaluate Classical Music in Different Ways

Authors: Galina Portnova, Kseniya Gladun

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In our EEG experiment participated 27 children with ASD with the average age of 6.13 years and the average score for CARS 32.41 and 25 healthy children (of 6.35 years). Six types of musical stimulation were presented, included Gluck, Javier-Naida, Kenny G, Chopin and other classic musical compositions. Children with autism showed orientation reaction to the music and give behavioral responses to different types of music, some of them might assess stimulation by scales. The participants were instructed to remain calm. Brain electrical activity was recorded using a 19-channel EEG recording device, 'Encephalan' (Russia, Taganrog). EEG epochs lasting 150 s were analyzed using EEGLab plugin for MatLab (Mathwork Inc.). For EEG analysis we used Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), analyzed Peak alpha frequency (PAF), correlation dimension D2 and Stability of rhythms. To express the dynamics of desynchronizing of different rhythms we've calculated the envelope of the EEG signal, using the whole frequency range and a set of small narrowband filters using Hilbert transformation. Our data showed that healthy children showed similar EEG spectral changes during musical stimulation as well as described the feelings induced by musical fragments. The exception was the ‘Chopin. Prelude’ fragment (no.6). This musical fragment induced different subjective feeling, behavioral reactions and EEG spectral changes in children with ASD and healthy children. The correlation dimension D2 was significantly lower in autists compared to healthy children during musical stimulation. Hilbert envelope frequency was reduced in all group of subjects during musical compositions 1,3,5,6 compositions compared to the background. During musical fragments 2 and 4 (terrible) lower Hilbert envelope frequency was observed only in children with ASD and correlated with the severity of the disease. Alfa peak frequency was lower compared to the background during this musical composition in healthy children and conversely higher in children with ASD.

Keywords: electroencephalogram (EEG), emotional perception, ASD, musical perception, childhood Autism rating scale (CARS)

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992 The Various Legal Dimensions of Genomic Data

Authors: Amy Gooden

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When human genomic data is considered, this is often done through only one dimension of the law, or the interplay between the various dimensions is not considered, thus providing an incomplete picture of the legal framework. This research considers and analyzes the various dimensions in South African law applicable to genomic sequence data – including property rights, personality rights, and intellectual property rights. The effective use of personal genomic sequence data requires the acknowledgement and harmonization of the rights applicable to such data.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, data, law, genomics, rights

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991 GPU-Accelerated Triangle Mesh Simplification Using Parallel Vertex Removal

Authors: Thomas Odaker, Dieter Kranzlmueller, Jens Volkert

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We present an approach to triangle mesh simplification designed to be executed on the GPU. We use a quadric error metric to calculate an error value for each vertex of the mesh and order all vertices based on this value. This step is followed by the parallel removal of a number of vertices with the lowest calculated error values. To allow for the parallel removal of multiple vertices we use a set of per-vertex boundaries that prevent mesh foldovers even when simplification operations are performed on neighbouring vertices. We execute multiple iterations of the calculation of the vertex errors, ordering of the error values and removal of vertices until either a desired number of vertices remains in the mesh or a minimum error value is reached. This parallel approach is used to speed up the simplification process while maintaining mesh topology and avoiding foldovers at every step of the simplification.

Keywords: computer graphics, half edge collapse, mesh simplification, precomputed simplification, topology preserving

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990 Design, Development by Functional Analysis in UML and Static Test of a Multimedia Voice and Video Communication Platform on IP for a Use Adapted to the Context of Local Businesses in Lubumbashi

Authors: Blaise Fyama, Elie Museng, Grace Mukoma

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In this article we present a java implementation of video telephony using the SIP protocol (Session Initiation Protocol). After a functional analysis of the SIP protocol, we relied on the work of Italian researchers of University of Parma-Italy to acquire adequate libraries for the development of our own communication tool. In order to optimize the code and improve the prototype, we used, in an incremental approach, test techniques based on a static analysis based on the evaluation of the complexity of the software with the application of metrics and the number cyclomatic of Mccabe. The objective is to promote the emergence of local start-ups producing IP video in a well understood local context. We have arrived at the creation of a video telephony tool whose code is optimized.

Keywords: static analysis, coding complexity metric mccabe, Sip, uml

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989 Patient-Specific Modeling Algorithm for Medical Data Based on AUC

Authors: Guilherme Ribeiro, Alexandre Oliveira, Antonio Ferreira, Shyam Visweswaran, Gregory Cooper

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Patient-specific models are instance-based learning algorithms that take advantage of the particular features of the patient case at hand to predict an outcome. We introduce two patient-specific algorithms based on decision tree paradigm that use AUC as a metric to select an attribute. We apply the patient specific algorithms to predict outcomes in several datasets, including medical datasets. Compared to the patient-specific decision path (PSDP) entropy-based and CART methods, the AUC-based patient-specific decision path models performed equivalently on area under the ROC curve (AUC). Our results provide support for patient-specific methods being a promising approach for making clinical predictions.

Keywords: approach instance-based, area under the ROC curve, patient-specific decision path, clinical predictions

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988 Evaluation Metrics for Machine Learning Techniques: A Comprehensive Review and Comparative Analysis of Performance Measurement Approaches

Authors: Seyed-Ali Sadegh-Zadeh, Kaveh Kavianpour, Hamed Atashbar, Elham Heidari, Saeed Shiry Ghidary, Amir M. Hajiyavand

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Evaluation metrics play a critical role in assessing the performance of machine learning models. In this review paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of performance measurement approaches for machine learning models. For each category, we discuss the most widely used metrics, including their mathematical formulations and interpretation. Additionally, we provide a comparative analysis of performance measurement approaches for metric combinations. Our review paper aims to provide researchers and practitioners with a better understanding of performance measurement approaches and to aid in the selection of appropriate evaluation metrics for their specific applications.

Keywords: evaluation metrics, performance measurement, supervised learning, unsupervised learning, reinforcement learning, model robustness and stability, comparative analysis

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987 Approach to Functional Safety-Compliant Design of Electric Power Steering Systems for Commercial Vehicles

Authors: Hyun Chul Koag, Hyun-Sik Ahn

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In this paper, we propose a design approach for the safety mechanism of an actuator used in a commercial vehicle’s EPS system. As the number of electric/electronic system in a vehicle increases, the importance of the functional safety has been receiving much attention. EPS(Electric Power Steering) systems for commercial vehicles require large power than passenger vehicles, and hence, dual motor can be applied to get more torque. We show how to formulate the development process for the design of hardware and software of an EPS system using dual motors. A lot of safety mechanisms for the processor, sensors, and memory have been suggested, however, those for actuators have not been fully researched. It is shown by metric analyses that the target ASIL(Automotive Safety Integrated Level) is satisfied in the point of view of hardware of EPS controller.

Keywords: safety mechanism, functional safety, commercial vehicles, electric power steering

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986 Applying Napoleoni's 'Shell-State' Concept to Jihadist Organisations's Rise in Mali, Nigeria and Syria/Iraq, 2011-2015

Authors: Francesco Saverio Angiò

Abstract:

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant / Syria (ISIL/S), Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad, also known as ‘Boko Haram’ (BH), have fought successfully against Syria and Iraq, Mali, Nigeria’s government, respectively. According to Napoleoni, the ‘shell-state’ concept can explain the economic dimension and the financing model of the ISIL insurgency. However, she argues that AQIM and BH did not properly plan their financial model. Consequently, her idea would not be suitable to these groups. Nevertheless, AQIM and BH’s economic performances and their (short) territorialisation suggest that their financing models respond to a well-defined strategy, which they were able to adapt to new circumstances. Therefore, Napoleoni’s idea of ‘shell-state’ can be applied to the three jihadist armed groups. In the last five years, together with other similar entities, ISIL/S, AQIM and BH have been fighting against governments with insurgent tactics and terrorism acts, conquering and ruling a quasi-state; a physical space they presented as legitimate territorial entity, thanks to a puritan version of the Islamic law. In these territories, they have exploited the traditional local economic networks. In addition, they have contributed to the development of legal and illegal transnational business activities. They have also established a justice system and created an administrative structure to supply services. Napoleoni’s ‘shell-state’ can describe the evolution of ISIL/S, AQIM and BH, which has switched from an insurgency to a proto or a quasi-state entity, enjoying a significant share of power over territories and populations. Napoleoni first developed and applied the ‘Shell-state’ concept to describe the nature of groups such as the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), before using it to explain the expansion of ISIL. However, her original conceptualisation emphasises on the economic dimension of the rise of the insurgency, focusing on the ‘business’ model and the insurgents’ financing management skills, which permits them to turn into an organisation. However, the idea of groups which use, coordinate and grab some territorial economic activities (at the same time, encouraging new criminal ones), can also be applied to administrative, social, infrastructural, legal and military levels of their insurgency, since they contribute to transform the insurgency to the same extent the economic dimension does. In addition, according to Napoleoni’s view, the ‘shell-state’ prism is valid to understand the ISIL/S phenomenon, because the group has carefully planned their financial steps. Napoleoni affirmed that ISIL/S carries out activities in order to promote their conversion from a group relying on external sponsors to an entity that can penetrate and condition local economies. On the contrary, ‘shell-state’ could not be applied to AQIM or BH, which are acting more like smugglers. Nevertheless, despite its failure to control territories, as ISIL has been able to do, AQIM and BH have responded strategically to their economic circumstances and have defined specific dynamics to ensure a flow of stable funds. Therefore, Napoleoni’s theory is applicable.

Keywords: shell-state, jihadist insurgency, proto or quasi-state entity economic planning, strategic financing

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985 Using Multi-Arm Bandits to Optimize Game Play Metrics and Effective Game Design

Authors: Kenny Raharjo, Ramon Lawrence

Abstract:

Game designers have the challenging task of building games that engage players to spend their time and money on the game. There are an infinite number of game variations and design choices, and it is hard to systematically determine game design choices that will have positive experiences for players. In this work, we demonstrate how multi-arm bandits can be used to automatically explore game design variations to achieve improved player metrics. The advantage of multi-arm bandits is that they allow for continuous experimentation and variation, intrinsically converge to the best solution, and require no special infrastructure to use beyond allowing minor game variations to be deployed to users for evaluation. A user study confirms that applying multi-arm bandits was successful in determining the preferred game variation with highest play time metrics and can be a useful technique in a game designer's toolkit.

Keywords: game design, multi-arm bandit, design exploration and data mining, player metric optimization and analytics

Procedia PDF Downloads 482
984 A Review of Benefit-Risk Assessment over the Product Lifecycle

Authors: M. Miljkovic, A. Urakpo, M. Simic-Koumoutsaris

Abstract:

Benefit-risk assessment (BRA) is a valuable tool that takes place in multiple stages during a medicine's lifecycle, and this assessment can be conducted in a variety of ways. The aim was to summarize current BRA methods used during approval decisions and in post-approval settings and to see possible future directions. Relevant reviews, recommendations, and guidelines published in medical literature and through regulatory agencies over the past five years have been examined. BRA implies the review of two dimensions: the dimension of benefits (determined mainly by the therapeutic efficacy) and the dimension of risks (comprises the safety profile of a drug). Regulators, industry, and academia have developed various approaches, ranging from descriptive textual (qualitative) to decision-analytic (quantitative) models, to facilitate the BRA of medicines during the product lifecycle (from Phase I trials, to authorization procedure, post-marketing surveillance and health technology assessment for inclusion in public formularies). These approaches can be classified into the following categories: stepwise structured approaches (frameworks); measures for benefits and risks that are usually endpoint specific (metrics), simulation techniques and meta-analysis (estimation techniques), and utility survey techniques to elicit stakeholders’ preferences (utilities). All these approaches share the following two common goals: to assist this analysis and to improve the communication of decisions, but each is subject to its own specific strengths and limitations. Before using any method, its utility, complexity, the extent to which it is established, and the ease of results interpretation should be considered. Despite widespread and long-time use, BRA is subject to debate, suffers from a number of limitations, and currently is still under development. The use of formal, systematic structured approaches to BRA for regulatory decision-making and quantitative methods to support BRA during the product lifecycle is a standard practice in medicine that is subject to continuous improvement and modernization, not only in methodology but also in cooperation between organizations.

Keywords: benefit-risk assessment, benefit-risk profile, product lifecycle, quantitative methods, structured approaches

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983 Performativity and Valuation Techniques: Evidence from Investment Banks in the Wake of the Global Financial Crisis

Authors: Alicja Reuben, Amira Annabi

Abstract:

In this paper, we explore the relationship between the selection of valuation techniques by investment banks and the banks’ risk perceptions and performance in the context of the theory of performativity. We use inferential statistics to study these relationships by building a unique dataset based on the disclosure of 12 investment banks’ 2012-2015 annual financial statements. Moreover, we create two constructs, namely intensity of use and risk perception. We measure the intensity of use as a frequency metric of how often a particular bank adopts valuation techniques for a particular asset or liability. We measure risk perception based on disclosed ranges of values for unobservable inputs. Our results are twofold: we find a significant negative correlation between (1) intensity of use and investment bank performance and (2) intensity of use and risk perception. These results indicate that a performative process takes place, and the valuation techniques are enacting their environment.

Keywords: language, linguistics, performativity, financial techniques

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982 “Self” and “The Other” in Dunkirk (2017)

Authors: Ebtesam Dessouki, Yasaman Mousavi

Abstract:

Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk (2017) is not a conventional war film. He invites the audience to see the war from within, from the characters’ experiences, through suspense and fear, with the help of talented sound designers and musicians such as Hans Zimmer for an extra dimension creating those feelings. This experience of being among the surviving soldiers makes room for an interpretation of this film using the concept of the Self and the Other. The Self is the soldiers and the audience who try to make sense of their reality given limited information about the enemy and their situation, and the Other is the faceless enemy. However, this film can be taken under an even more detailed analysis theorizing that the Other also exists on different occasions in the film. Overall, Nolan leaves a lot of cues for the audience to track the Other and sometimes breaks the rules for the Other.

Keywords: film, Dunkirk, other, self

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981 Saliency Detection Using a Background Probability Model

Authors: Junling Li, Fang Meng, Yichun Zhang

Abstract:

Image saliency detection has been long studied, while several challenging problems are still unsolved, such as detecting saliency inaccurately in complex scenes or suppressing salient objects in the image borders. In this paper, we propose a new saliency detection algorithm in order to solving these problems. We represent the image as a graph with superixels as nodes. By considering appearance similarity between the boundary and the background, the proposed method chooses non-saliency boundary nodes as background priors to construct the background probability model. The probability that each node belongs to the model is computed, which measures its similarity with backgrounds. Thus we can calculate saliency by the transformed probability as a metric. We compare our algorithm with ten-state-of-the-art salient detection methods on the public database. Experimental results show that our simple and effective approach can attack those challenging problems that had been baffling in image saliency detection.

Keywords: visual saliency, background probability, boundary knowledge, background priors

Procedia PDF Downloads 394
980 Deep Neural Network Approach for Navigation of Autonomous Vehicles

Authors: Mayank Raj, V. G. Narendra

Abstract:

Ever since the DARPA challenge on autonomous vehicles in 2005, there has been a lot of buzz about ‘Autonomous Vehicles’ amongst the major tech giants such as Google, Uber, and Tesla. Numerous approaches have been adopted to solve this problem, which can have a long-lasting impact on mankind. In this paper, we have used Deep Learning techniques and TensorFlow framework with the goal of building a neural network model to predict (speed, acceleration, steering angle, and brake) features needed for navigation of autonomous vehicles. The Deep Neural Network has been trained on images and sensor data obtained from the comma.ai dataset. A heatmap was used to check for correlation among the features, and finally, four important features were selected. This was a multivariate regression problem. The final model had five convolutional layers, followed by five dense layers. Finally, the calculated values were tested against the labeled data, where the mean squared error was used as a performance metric.

Keywords: autonomous vehicles, deep learning, computer vision, artificial intelligence

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979 Patient Safety Culture in Brazilian Hospitals from Nurse's Team Perspective

Authors: Carmen Silvia Gabriel, Dsniele Bernardi da Costa, Andrea Bernardes, Sabrina Elias Mikael, Daniele da Silva Ramos

Abstract:

The goal of this quantitative study is to investigate patient safety culture from the perspective of professional from the hospital nursing team.It was conducted in two Brazilian hospitals,.The sample included 282 nurses Data collection occurred in 2013, through the questionnaire Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture.Based on the assessment of the dimensions is stressed that, in the dimension teamwork across hospital units, 69.4% of professionals agree that when a lot of work needs to be done quickly, they work together as a team; about the dimension supervisor/ manager expectations and actions promoting safety, 70.2% agree that their supervisor overlooks patient safety problems.Related to organizational learning and continuous improvement, 56.5% agree that there is evaluation of the effectiveness of the changes after its implementation.On hospital management support for patient safety, 52.8% refer that the actions of hospital management show that patient safety is a top priority.On the overall perception of patient safety, 57.2% disagree that patient safety is never compromised due to higher amount of work to be completed.In what refers to feedback and communication about error, 57.7% refer that always and usually receive such information. Relative to communication openness, 42.9% said they never or rarely feel free to question the decisions / actions of their superiors.On frequency of event reporting, 64.7% said often and always notify events with no damages to patients..About teamwork across hospital units is noted similarity between the percentages of agreement and disagreement, as on the item there is a good cooperation among hospital units that need to work together, that indicates 41.4% and 40.5% respectively.Related to adequacy of professionals, 77.8 % disagree on the existence of sufficient amount of employees to do the job, 52.4% agree that shift changes are problematic for patients. On nonpunitive response to errors, 71.7% indicate that when an event is reported it seems that the focus is on the person.On the patient safety grade of the institution, 41.6 % classified it as very good. it is concluded that there are positive points in the safety culture, and some weaknesses as a punitive culture and impaired patient safety due to work overload .

Keywords: quality of health care, health services evaluation, safety culture, patient safety, nursing team

Procedia PDF Downloads 277