Are You in the Line? RSSI-based Queue Detection in Crowds

Crowd behaviour analytics focuses on behavioural characteristics of groups of people instead of individuals' activities. This work considers human queuing behaviour which is a specific crowd behavior of groups. We design a plug-and-play system solution to the queue detection problem based on Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) received signal strength indicators (RSSIs) captured by multiple signal sniffers. The goal of this work is to determine if a device is in the queue based on only RSSIs. The key idea is to extract features not only from individual device's data but also mobility similarity between data from multiple devices and mobility correlation observed by multiple sniffers. Thus, we propose single-device feature extraction, cross-device feature extraction, and cross-sniffer feature extraction for model training and classification. We systematically conduct experiments with simulated queue movements to study the detection accuracy. Finally, we compare our signal-based approach against camera-based face detection approach in a real-world social event with a real human queue. The experimental results indicate that our approach can reach minimum accuracy of 77% and it significantly outperforms the camera-based face detection because people block each other's visibility whereas wireless signals can be detected without blocking.Comment: This work has been partially funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme within the project "Worldwide Interoperability for SEmantics IoT" under grant agreement Number 72315

Hybrid cities and new working spaces – The case of Oslo

Recent decades have seen the emergence of hybrid models of living and working associated typologies. These developments have been analysed from the perspective of different disciplines, each with their own interpretation of this phenomenon. Planning and architecture have addressed hybridization as a specific form of interaction between spatio-functional features (such as mixed use, multi-functionality and flexibility) and social features (such as formal and informal interactions and the spontaneous appropriation of spaces) or have sometimes simply focused on the spatio-functional dimension in urban spaces. Studies from other disciplines (e.g. mobility networks, transportation, sociology and information technology) have shown that hybrid spaces cannot exist without access to digitalization technologies. Such technologies are accelerating hybridization processes. This study examines the complex and layered phenomenon of hybridization as a possible combination of (or interaction between) spatio-functional, social and digital features within the planning debate and related fields. Most of the case studies explored by scholars so far have focused on interactions occurring between residential, social and recreational functions, but working functions are playing an increasingly important role. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the development of new forms of hybridity in cities. As a consequence, the rising use of hybrid (on-site and on-line) working practices, planners, policy makers and stakeholders, as well as scholars, have increasingly discussed the concept of hybridization. In this context, various hybrid typologies of urban spaces have materialized in forms such as new working spaces (NWS) which include co-working spaces, incubators, as well as some cafés and multi-functional public libraries, which have recently provided working spaces. This paper focuses on the evolving concept of hybridity from the planning perspective. Based on five hybrid NWS including their surrounding neighbourhoods in Oslo, it provides empirical evidence for an understanding of the phenomenon that may support the development of hybrid spaces and buildings and develops suggestions for planning strategies. © 2022 The Author

Law in the present future : approaching the legal imaginary of smart cities with science (and) fiction

This doctoral research concerns smart cities, describing digital solutions and social issues related to their innovative technologies, adopted models, and major projects around the world. The many perspectives mentioned in it were identified by online tools used for the textual analysis of two databases that were built from relevant publications on the main subject by authors coming from media and academia. Expected legal elements emerged from the applied process, such as privacy, security, transparency, participation, accountability, and governance. A general review was produced on the information available about the public policies of Big Data in the two municipal cases of Rio de Janeiro and Montréal, and their regulation in the Brazilian and Canadian contexts. The combined approaches from science and literature were explored to reflect on the normative concerns represented by the global challenges and local risks brought by urban surveillance, climate change, and other neoliberal conditions. Cyberpunk Science Fiction reveals itself useful for engaging with the shared problems that need to be faced in the present time, all involving democracy. The results achieved reveal that this work was, in fact, about the complex network of practices and senses between (post)modern law and the imaginary of the future.Cette recherche doctorale centrée sur les villes intelligentes met en évidence les solutions numériques et les questionnements sociétaux qui ont trait aux technologies innovantes, ainsi qu’aux principaux modèles et projets développés autour d’elles à travers le monde. Des perspectives multiples en lien avec ces développements ont été identifiées à l’aide d’outils en ligne qui ont permis l’analyse textuelle de deux bases de données comprenant des publications scientifiques et des écrits médiatiques. De ce processus analytique ont émergé des éléments juridiques relatifs aux questions de vie privée, de sécurité, de transparence, de participation, d’imputabilité et de gouvernance. De plus, à partir de ces informations a été réalisée une revue des politiques publiques relatives aux mégadonnées dans les villes de Rio de Janeiro et de Montréal, ainsi que des réglementations nationales du Canada et du Brésil en lien avec ce sujet. Finalement, à travers l’exploration d’écrits scientifiques et fictionnels de la littérature, les principaux enjeux normatifs soulevés localement et mondialement par la surveillance urbaine, les changements climatiques et les politiques néolibérales ont pu être mis à jour. Le courant cyberpunk de la science-fiction s’est avéré particulièrement utile pour révéler les principaux problèmes politiques, en lien avec la préservation de la démocratie, auxquelles sont confrontées nos sociétés présentement. Les résultats de la recherche démontrent finalement la présence d’un réseau de pratiques et de significations entre le droit (post)moderne et les représentations imaginaires du futur

CREATING AN INNOVATION OPPORTUNITY SPACE FOR BROADACRE SMART FARMING: A CASE STUDY OF AUTONOMOUS FARM EQUIPMENT

Advances in digital technologies are transforming the agriculture and agri-food system. The technological changes are represented in many forms, ranging from software-based prescriptions for optimal rate application of farm inputs, advanced imagery of fields and plants collected by sensors, satellites and drones, to new forms of human-to-machine interactions and machine learning This thesis is a case study of one type of a smart farming innovation, a field robot., originating from a small-to-medium sized enterprise (SME) that designs and manufacturers machinery used in broadacre, conservation tillage farming. The innovation, known as DOT™, is an entrepreneur’s response to problems in the agriculture industry, and a solution to a critical constraint of labour shortages in the sector. By gathering qualitative data through interviews, news items and academic publications, observing the farming community’s engagement with digital technology innovation at farm show, and applying the Innovation Opportunity Space (IOS) analytical framework, this study identified that an autonomous DOT™ offers a solution for farming problems. Other firms are incorporating the DOT™ technology into their manufacturing operations through licensing agreements and early farmer adoption is positive. The process of innovation was based on synthesis of tacit knowledge (experience-based knowledge of farming and agribusiness) and codified knowledge (drawing on computer programing), while public policy facilitated the hiring of trained university students who remain with the SME as advocates for smart farming. There remain some gaps: public policy for safe deployment of smart farming innovation is lagging behind invention and commercialization; new business models for manufacture and commercialization of high-tech equipment are just emerging and data ownership and control remains unresolved; and evidence of the value of smart farming technologies to farmers and the larger social system remains scant

Selling the virtual university : a multimodal discourse analysis of marketing for online learning

When marketing online degrees, institutions are simultaneously telling a story about what it means to be a student at that institution and about what it means to be an online learner. This study is an attempt to investigate and interrogate those stories, to analyze how we talk about online learning and to explore whether that linguistic framing is consistent with a broader socioeconomic critique of academic capitalism in the 21st Century. Using critical discourse and multimodal analysis, I examined the institutional websites devoted to the promotion and marketing of online programs at 18 public universities with high exclusively online enrollment (>4,000). This project describes the consistencies and contradictions embedded in the language and visual artifacts used to market and sell online learning to prospective students in the United States. I explored how these discourses reinforced and reconstituted broader social and lived realities of labor, time, and space. Placing online higher education as a phenomenon within the social context of neoliberalism, and academic capitalism, this study contributes a much-needed critical perspective to the intersection of two areas of inquiry in higher education research, online learning and institutional marketing.Includes bibliographical reference

Catalog | 2022-2023

(2022-2023). In its early years as the State Normal School, JSU produced a variety of publications (announcements, bulletins, and catalogs) that contain course information combined with the types of information that would later be found in yearbooks. Examples include historical information about the school, lists of enrolled students and club officers, photographs of athletic teams and literary clubs, notes on alumni, faculty and campus facilities, and more.https://digitalcommons.jsu.edu/lib_ac_bul_bulletin/1221/thumbnail.jp

Devising and evaluating wearable technology for social dynamics monitoring

The importance of studying social interactions has been proven useful in several fields. In the workplace, studies have found that allowing mixing among different groups could improve team coordination and productivity. Architectural studies have analysed how physical spaces can potentially increase unplanned interactions. Other areas such as epidemiology have also benefited from tracking face-to-face contacts to study the spread of disease. Although technology has progressed significantly, the automated and accurate measurement of human interactions with mobile devices is still lagging. The main shortcomings have to do with accuracy of the captured data and with the communication modalities considered. Additionally, non-verbal behaviours during social interactions (e.g. body posture, orientation and interaction distance) have been often neglected, with a few exceptions, even if traditional sociology has highlighted their importance. In this dissertation we address these challenges by developing two wearable research platforms to monitor different dimensions of social interactions. First, we study the extent to which Bluetooth Low Energy could detect proximity in indoor environments. We analyse all the relevant protocol parameters and measure their impact on power consumption, on custom as well as on commercial devices. We assess its accuracy with a 4-week long deployment illustrating its sustainability for social dynamics studies. With the contacts and mobility data collected during the deployment we study the relationship between social contacts and space design, focusing on a modern architectural concept, Activity-Based Working (ABW). We uncover several patterns and we show how they could be the result of the correct adoption of ABW principles. However, we also discover that the employees might not have fully embraced the ABW concepts entirely, leading to mismatches between principles and actual space usage. Given the importance of studying non-verbal behaviour during social contact we then devise a novel wearable device that, by exploiting near-infrared signals, is able to capture accurate information about distance and angle of interaction between people. We show how we design the device to be robust to ambient light changes and short occlusions by leveraging inertial measurement units. With extensive testing we evaluate its accuracy and robustness. We then explore its potential to study creative processes by deploying it to capture non-verbal cues during a creative task. We show how data about the relative orientation between people and their interpersonal distance could be used to predict the role they have during the interaction and the status of the task. The platforms developed and the insights drawn in this dissertation provide evidence to support the use of wearable technologies to monitor social interactions at an unprecedented level